‘I can’t believe I just did it’: Middletown bowler became 13th-youngest ever to roll 300 game this month

Garland, general manager of Eastern Lanes, just smiled at his son’s confidence and suggested maybe he could shoot three 200 games for a 600 series.

Greyson Garland accomplished both feats on the same day and placed himself in the national bowling record books.

Greyson, who celebrated his 11th birthday last month, became the 13th-youngest player to bowl a perfect game, according to the United States Bowling Congress in Arlington, Texas.

The youngest to roll a sanctioned 300 game is Hannah Diem, who was 9 years, 6 months old in 2013, said Matt Cannizzaro, public relations director for the USBC. She broke the record of 10 years, 2 months old set by Ohio’s Chaz Dennis, who rolled a perfect game in 2006.

“I can’t believe I just did it,” Greyson, a fifth-grader at Carlisle Elementary School, has told his father numerous times.

“You are one of the elites,” the father told his son.

The Garland family knows about elite bowlers. Garland has 34 perfect games and eight 800 series and his wife, Kari, bowled two 300 games in 2019.

On Dec. 6, the day after Greyson’s 300 and 600 series, his father rolled a 300 game, 805 series.

“Had to show him I wasn’t done yet,” Brian Garland said.

“He couldn’t let his kid take all the limelight,” Kari Garland said.

Brian Garland nearly missed the 300 and his wife, because of coronavirus restrictions, wasn’t allowed to be at the bowling alley during the Saturday morning youth league.

He was helping in the kitchen Saturday morning when a co-worker yelled he needed to stop working because his son had nine consecutive strikes to start the game.

“My heart left my chest,” he said. “I was just shaking. What an unbelievable feeling.”

After Greyson’s 10th strike, his 11th ball crossed left of the head pin, but all 10 pins fell. Greyson then made an adjustment: He moved his feet two boards to the left and the ball barely hit the right side of the head pin. But the massive spin on the ball made up for the light hit and his perfect game was complete.

“I was in shock,” his father said. “Emotions overtook me. It was unreal.”

Before the 10th frame, Greyson waited for the bowler on his left to finish. Everyone stopped to watch Greyson.

“Nervous,” he said when asked how he felt.

His previous high game during a league was 224 and he carries a 171 average, 50 pins higher than most bowlers in the youth league.

He followed up his perfect game with a 165, 141 for a 606 series.

“The adrenaline wore off,” his father said with a smile.

While he comes from a family of bowlers, Greyson learned the sport from watching YouTube videos of Jason Belmonte, who has 25 Professional Bowlers Association titles and is five-time Player of the Year. Belmonte is one of the first bowlers to gain media attention for using the two-handed approach style.

So Greyson emulates Belmonte. Instead of placing two fingers and a thumb in his 14-pound Storm Mix black bowling ball, Greyson uses two fingers, no thumb and spins the ball violently with his hands.

“It’s the new craze,” his father said.

On Wednesday night, Greyson was getting his picture taken on Lanes 21-22, the same pair where he was perfect earlier this month. When his mother arrived, she noticed he was wearing a red T-shirt under his orange and black bowling shirt with his name on the back.

She told him that outfit didn’t match and he needed to take off the T-shirt. He returned from the restroom and his hair — neatly styled with more product than on the lanes — was a mess.

“He’s all about his hair,” his mom said.

He’s unflappable, this kid.

He ran his fingers through his hair and returned to bowling.