By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Chris Barnes has accomplished about everything one can accomplish in bowling.
He is a Professional Bowling Association Hall of Famer, has won 19 PBA Tour titles, including three majors, and also has a win to his credit in the PBA50 Tour while topping the $2 million mark in career earnings.
So it should come as no surprise that the Topeka High product, a state champion in basketball as a Trojan, earned the No. 1 spot in the TopSports.news Best of the Best Top 25 list for men's bowling while also running away with the most votes in the Readers Choice Awards, garnering just under 700 votes.
Chris Barnes [Twitter]
Bob Benoit [Pinterest.com]
Bob Benoit, a successful touring pro in his own right, with five PBA wins and a televised 300 game, is No. 2 in the Top 25 while Topeka legend Dale Euwer, former pro Kelly Coffman and multi-time Topeka Bowler of the Year Anthony Judd round out the top five.
Following Barnes in the No. 2 spot in the Readers Choice Awards is Allen Payne, who received more than 460 votes, while former Washburn Rural standout Trevor Baumgartner, Kaw Valley Hall of Famer Joe Burkhart and former Seaman star Ashton Bigger rounded out the top five in reader votes.
Here's a look at the Top 25 and Readers Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 25 BEST OF THE BEST MEN'S BOWLERS
1. Chris Barnes -- Barnes will go down in history as one of the top bowlers in Professional Bowling Association history, earning induction into the PBA Hall of Fame in 2018. The Topeka High grad, who played on a state championship basketball team for the Trojans, currently has won 19 PBA Tour titles, including three majors, and added a win in the PBA50 Tour earlier this year. Barnes, a member of the Topeka and Kansas bowling halls of fame, has more than $2 million in career earnings.
2. Bob Benoit -- Currently the bowling coach at Seaman, Benoit was a stalwart on the PBA Tour and is best known for bowling the first perfect 300 game in a televised title match. Benoit garnered five PBA Tour titles and won more than $700,000. Benoit coached Seaman to the 2019 Class 5A-1A boys state team championship and is a member of the city and state halls of fame.
3. Dale Euwer -- Euwer, who passed away in 2007, was named the Topeka Bowler of the Year seven times and may be best known for winning four gold medals in the 1977 Federation Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) American Zone tournament in Panama. Euwer was named Amateur Bowler of the Year in '77 and is a member of the city and state halls of fame.
4. Kelly Coffman -- Coffman was a full-time competitor on the PBA Tour for a decade (1990-99) and was a consistent contender, making it to televised finals on multiple occasions.
5. Anthony Judd -- Judd has been a superstar on the local level, capturing Topeka Bowler of the Year honors six times over a nine-year span, second only to Euwer. His 853 series ranks among the top 10 in city history.
6. Mike Parhomek -- Parhomek was inducted into the Kansas State USBC Hall of Fame in 2020 after being inducted into the Kaw Valley USBC (Topeka) Hall of Fame in '01. Parhomek was a three-time city bowler of the year in the 1990s and a two-time Topeka Top Ten champ.
7. Bill Busby -- Busby, a member of the Kansas State USBC Hall of Fame and the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame, bowled a 299 game at the age of 13 and was a three-time Topeka Top Ten winner, a two-time Gardner Masters Tournament champion and two-time city bowler of the year.
8. Geoff Poston -- A Topeka West grad, Poston is a member of the Kansas State USBC Hall of Fame and the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame. The '99 Gardner Masters winner is currently the bowling coach at Ottawa University after coaching Seaman to girls and boys Class 5A-1A state championships.
9. Ron Bahr -- Bahr was the first bowler to record back-to-back perfect 300 games in the 2003 ABC National Tournament, bowling an 837 series and winning the ABC Regular Singles crown. Bahr was inducted into the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame in '05.
10. Trent Overbey -- Overbey was a member of Kansas' collegiate national championship team in 2004 and later served as the Jayhawks' head coach. He is a two-time winner of the Topeka Youth Top Ten tourney.
11. Jason Crouch -- Crouch, a member of the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame, has been a two-time Topeka Bowler of the Year honoree and a three-time winner of the Topeka Top TenTournament. He has bowled an 827 series on two occasions.
12. Blake Massey -- Massey won the Class 6A state individual championship for Washburn Rural in 2018, rolling a first-game 300 and finishing with a 795 series. A three-time state medalist, Massey has gone on to bowl for Midland University.
13. Allen Payne -- A member of the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame, Payne is a four-time Topeka Bowler of the Year and the Top Ten champ in 2010 after runner-up finishes in '07 and '08.
14. Larry Stone -- Stone, who rolled an 867 series in 1970 in a tournament at Meadow Lanes that still ranks among the highest ever by a Topekan, was inducted into the Kansas State USBC Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame in '85.
15. Lee Behrens -- Behrens is a member of both the Kansas State USBC Hall of Fame and the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame, earning induction in the state shrine in 1994 and the Topeka HOF in '82.
16. Ashton Bigger -- A Seaman product, Bigger was a multi-time state medalist in the 5A-1A state tournament, including a second-place showing in 2013 when he bowled a 755 series in the state meet.
17. Trevor Baumgartner -- The former Washburn Rural standout and city bowler of the year bowled a 300 game in the 2011 6A state tournament en route to a fourth-place finish and was a multi-time state medalist before going on to become a standout at Newman University.
18. Don Luce -- Luce is enshrined in the Kansas State USBC Hall of Fame and the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame. Luce was the Topeka Bowler of the Year in '58 and '68 and bowled a 300 game and more than 10 299s.
19. Kirby Cain -- Cain was inducted into the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame in 2002 and into the Kansas State USBC Hall of Fame in '07.
20. Craig Trapp -- Inducted into the Kansas State USBC Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame in 2000, Trapp was the Top Ten champ in '03 and named the Topeka Senior Bowler of the Year in '11.
21. Joe Burkhart -- One of the top city bowlers in a highly competitive era, Burkhart was rewarded with induction into the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame in 1989.
22. Vince Nordberg -- Nordberg, a two-time city bowler of the year, was inducted into the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame in 2004.
23. Rod Paletta -- A stalwart on the city scene, Paletta, who rolled an 858 series in the late '80s in an unsanctioned makeup match, was inducted into the Kaw Valley USBC Hall of Fame in 2009.
24. Luke Rasdahl -- Rasdahl was the 2020 Topeka Top Ten champion and has been a runner-up on multiple occasions, including '19.
25. Jerry Gentry Jr. -- Gentry has been a long-time contender on the Topeka bowling scene, having success in both league (three 800 series) and tournament competition.
READERS CHOICE AWARDS
1. Chris Barnes -- No. 1 in TSN Best of the Best Top 25 (see capsule above).
2. Allen Payne -- No. 13 in Best of the Best Top 25 (see capsule above).
3. Trevor Baumgartner -- No. 17 in Best of the Best Top 25 (see capsule above).
4. Joe Burkhart -- No. 21 in Best of the Best Top 25 (see capsule above).
5. Ashton Bigger -- No. 16 in Best of the Best Top 25 (see capsule above).
6. Dale Euwer -- No. 3 in Best of the Best Top 25 (see capsule above).
7. Jason Crouch -- No. 11 in Best of the Best Top 25 (see capsule above).
8. Luke Rosdahl -- No. 24 in Best of the Best Top 25 (see capsule above).
9. Bob Benoit -- No. 2 in Best of the Best Top 25 (see capsule above).
10. Ron Bahr -- No. 9 in Best of the Best Top 25 (see capsule above).
Next up: Women's cross country Top 25 Best of the Best and Readers Choice Awards.
