MINNEAPOLIS - LaVille High School's Ryan Carmichael continues to compete at the U16 Boys 2026 Junior Golf Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Wednesday was day three in the qualifying and Ryan was able to make a nice gain in total pinfall, improving his lead from 30 pins to 61 pins. With just one day - Thursday, July 16 - the LaVille junior-to-be stands atop the qualifying with 2795 total pins. His closest competitor in the qualifying round is from Jackson, Missouri. Roughly 780 bowlers are among the field in the U16 Boys Junior Gold Division. The top 101 bowlers move on to the qualifying advancers round, which is scheduled to begin on Friday July 17. The final advancer round is next, with the match-play stair-step this weekend. The overall winner would earn scholarship money of $12,000 toward their education. According to LaVille head bowling coach Kevin Kubsch, "They come from as far away as Hawai'i "These are the best youth bowlers in the United States. There was also a trade show with collegiate scouts in attendance from all over the USA. Just in the first couple of days, several colleges have reached out to Ryan including Indiana Tech (Fort Wayne, Indiana), Mount Mercy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Spring Arbor (one of the top bowling schools in the NAIA), St. Ambrose (Davenport, Iowa), Purdue (West Lafayette, Indiana), among others." Heading into the third round, Kubsch also indicated that there is a strong possibility, "he will advance to the 101 advancers based on current pinfall. And, to top things off, the u16 Boys 2026 Junior Gold Championships is a chance to become a member of Junior Team USA, which is a very prestigious team. Additionally, scholarship money is being distributed, and then this is really getting himself exposed to colleges and universities and their bowling programs. These kids are using this exposure to its absolute best." The fourth round continues Thursday, July 16. Stay tuned for updates.