09/23/2026
A BLAST FROM THE PAST STARTED THIS WEEK WITH AN EMAIL FROM A BOWLER WHO WAS A MEMBER OF OUR BOWLING FAMILY, YEARS AGO:
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, my brothers and I were youth bowlers in the Omaha YABA program. We were on the Junior Traveling league and bowled as many tournaments as we could.
My name is Denise Lani Pascual. I won Bowler of the Year in 1992. My brothers Michael Pascual and David Pascual were also notable bowlers of our cohort. Michael was Bowler of the Year in 1994.
In June 1993, my brother Michael bowled a 300 in the sanctioned youth/adult league at Leopard Lanes in Bellevue. Michael was a sanctioned age of 14 years old and had just turned 15 in May.
I am writing because his accomplishment as the first junior bowler in the US to bowl a perfect game, an accomplishment which brought so much joy and pride to our Omaha bowling community, has been buried by the story about 17 yr old Joe Richardson who bowled a 300 in August 1996, three years after Michael in June 1993 and after another Omaha Junior, Brian Boston, in November 1993.
Here is a link to the story that Google brings up when you search for "first junior bowler to bowl 300."
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1996/08/22/bowler-is-1st-junior-to-roll-300-game/
Michael did receive a 300 ring for his accomplishment, along with the plaque picture attached, and Bob Knudson covered the story for the Omaha World Herald twice, once when Michael bowled a 300 and, again, when Brian bowled a 300.
Can you find in your records when Michael and Brian bowled their perfect games? And can you post their accomplishments on the Omaha USBC website?
I have much love and pride for my dear Omaha bowling family. I still follow many of them on social media. It wasn't until recently that I found out that Michael and Brian's 300s are no where to be found online. I feel strongly that this should be corrected.
Please let me know if I can help. I now bowl out of Indy USBC in Indiana and my brothers live in Las Vegas. While Michael doesn't bowl much anymore, he does still have a USBC Member Number, 8014-64283 through the Southern Nevada USBC, and has many honor scores.
Then this message: I bowl out of Indianapolis USBC. Michael and David used to bowl out of Las Vegas USBC. Michael might get back into bowling. He has such a natural talent. He was averaging over 220 when he last bowled.
If you know Matt Tomsu, we bowled juniors with him. We were a fun cohort. A bunch of us even went to PBA Camp in Colorado back when that was a thing. I am working on becoming a USBC Coach and attended a Level 1 training with Stephen Padilla in Lafayette, IN, and I laugh at how that camp would likely never happen these days. We were a bunch of teens being taught by PBA bowlers. Lisa Wagner was my coach. The camp was amazing but it would have been run very differently in today's sport's environment....
Here are screen shots of Michael's last sanction stats. I wish he would bowl again.
I PROVIDED LANI WITH A BOWLER OF THE YEAR HISTORY FILE TO LANI AND THIS IS THE RESPONSE:
Omg, Barb! What a trek down memory lane. I made BOY in 1988 to 1989. My other brother David was a BOY in 1990-1991.... and all those names were our friends. We bowled everything with those kids (at the time) .
Thank you for that. I'm bowling league now and showing my teammates.
God bless you,
Lani
PASTE THIS LINK INTO YOUR BROWSER AND HAVE FUN READING SOME HISTORY OF OMAHA'S YOUTH BOWLERS:
fil:///C:/Users/GOABA/OneDrive/Documents/BOY%20History%20book.pdf
LET'S SEE WHO REMEMBERS BOWLING WITH THESE "KIDS".
BOWLING, MAKING MEMORIES FOR A LIFETIME!
