03/03/2026
Another proud moment for Benson Tech as they made history at the 2026 Oregon State High School Bowling State Championships at Park Lanes in Hillsboro. It was the first appearance in 23 years at State for the Benson Boys Bowling team. The State Championships featured teams from Mountain Side, Westview, Scappoose, Sheldon, Dallas, Albany, South Salem, Corbett, Benson, Oregon City, South Medford, Phoenix, Roseburg, North Bend, Henley, Bend, Forest Grove / Liberty, Glencoe, Hillsboro, Sprague, McNary, Oregon City, Estacada, Lake Oswego, Grants Pass, Sutherlin, and Mazama. Benson finished qualifying rounds as the 8th seed out of 16, made it through 3 final match rounds, and ended as 10th place overall.
Benson started off with a decent performance in the opening qualifying rounds, including several impressive games of 191, 224, 194, 223, 191, 205, 203, and 241. Benson’s 241 game was the highest game of any team during Sunday’s qualifying round and the seventh highest game in the entire tournament. After 30 games and a marathon eight hours of qualifying, Benson averaged 173 per game and finished as the 8th seed out of 16 teams heading into the final elimination match playoffs. Benson was only 21 pins per game behind 1st place qualifier Westview HS (the defending State Champions), 16 pins per game behind 2nd place qualifier Henley HS (from Klamath Falls), and only 12 pins per game behind 3rd place qualifier Roseburg HS.
In the final double-elimination rounds, #8 seeded Benson’s first match was against #9 seeded Bend. Benson dominated the first game and won the first match point easily. But a lane malfunction and repair iced the hot Benson team for an unexpected 10-15 minutes. When play resumed Bend was the hot team winning the second game and second match point. As the higher seed, Benson took their lane of choice for the tie-breaking third game - but it wasn’t enough. Bend bettered Benson in game three, handing Benson their first lost match during the very first round of finals match play. This put Benson in a tough spot, forcing them to win the rest of their matches or be eliminated from the Championship.
With their backs against a wall in a win-or-go home second finals match, Benson faced off against Scappoose HS. Lane conditions were rapidly changing as oil patterns were breaking down from the hundreds of the state’s best bowlers showcasing their talents. Benson struggled somewhat to make the right adjustments and find new shots in the changing conditions. But Benson found enough fire and resilience to beat Scappoose in games 1 and 2, winning the match decisively and advancing on to the next round of finals.
As fate would have it, in the third round of finals Benson faced an opponent they didn’t want to see until later in the finals: Corbett HS. Corbett’s win over Benson in the District Championship match just a month prior was fresh in the minds of the bowlers. Coaches tried to rally the team’s morale, reminding them that Benson had just beaten Corbett during State qualifying! But Corbett was getting red-hot just like their jerseys and were just too much for Benson to handle again. Benson lost both games 1 and 2 of the match and were eliminated from the tournament in a true heartbreak fashion for Benson Tech. The early exit after the third final round dropped Benson to a 10th place overall finish.
Corbett stayed red hot and won all of their remaining matches, making it to the State title match. In a heartbreaker, Corbett lost a tie-breaking final game to Sheldon HS. Sheldon was crowned State Champions on the boys side, as Dallas HS took state on the girls side.
Even though there would be no State title for Benson, we still have big news! Benson’s Johnny Caldera placed 4th on the State All-Star team! Meaning he was the fourth best individual performer at the entire tournament, earning him a special scholarship and a shot at the upcoming State All-Star tournament. Johnny rolled an impressive 31 strikes and 15 spares in 57 frames. Johnny also placed 5th at Districts All-Stars and has proven he is one of the best high school bowlers in the entire State of Oregon. This could be the first time ever in school history, or at least the first time in many decades that a Benson bowler placed on both District All-Stars and State All-Stars.
We are so proud!! We want to especially recognize our graduating seniors: Kaleb Pate, Caleb Butler, Matai Acker, Karuna Hubble, and Nicholas Propst as well as the entire State Championship team: Johnny Caldera (freshman), Aden Wellington (freshman), and Ian Propst (junior.)
We are so thankful and grateful to everyone who made the long drive out to Hillsboro to support us in person at the tournament including: Principal Wilson, Vice Principal Mitacek, Mr. Guth, Mr. Yeager, Ms. Hawkins, Mrs. Hawbecker, KBPS Ops Manager Mr. Kinosh*ta, Benson Bowling Alum 2003 (the last team to make it to State) and Baseballism founder Jonathan Jwayad, Benson Bowling Alum Nate Baldwin, Alumni Association Treasurer Bob Trimble, and local business owner James Littlejohn. We especially want to thank all the families, parents, siblings, relatives, other alums, friends, and supporters who came out for Benson and who’ve helped and supported us all season long! We want to especially thank our superstar parents: Johnny’s Mom for helping organize team fundraisers and donations, Beckam’s Dad for securing new equipment donations, and London and Michael’s Dad for generous team donations. We want to especially thank Oregon State USBC Youth Program- Christy, Tim, and the entire team for their hard work, dedication, and time allowing this to happen!
We owe a special thanks to our amazing coaches who facilitated, organized, coached, inspired, motivated, fundraised, sacrificed, donated equipment, and helped our students in this historic season. None of this would be possible without Jacob Patterson, Donte Rhodes, Brad Propst, and Bob Trimble.
We owe another special thanks to our amazing team sponsors. KingPins Portland Center including Eric, Phil, Hannah, Audrey, Jenny and their entire crew. Kingpins Portland has provided Benson HS with bowling practice and shoe rental for five years - we could not do this without them. And our newest sponsor: Larry's Pro Shop including Thomas, Owen and their entire crew. They have taken great care of our bowler’s equipment needs, donating gear, redrilling, resurfacing, and much more. It was an honor proudly wearing Kingpins and Larry’s on our jerseys at the State Championships!
Benson Alums Benson Polytechnic High School The Benson Orbit
