Jody Rivera is not among the best bowlers in Butler County.

But the 25-year-old Butler resident recently hung out with the best bowlers in the world.

Despite sporting an average below 100 and not bowling in any fall or winter league, Rivera entered a sweepstakes known as the Miller Lite Jason Couch Challenge.

Six sweepstakes entrants were chosen to be flown to Norcoss, Ga., site of a PBA Tour event earlier this month, to bowl against each other for the right to bowl a game against Tour member Couch.

Of the 8,800 entries nationwide, Rivera was one of the six chosen.

"My mother is really into bowling and you're allowed to bring a guest, so I entered figuring if I won, I'd take her with me," Rivera said.

Rivera's mother, Mary Fleeger, bowls in three leagues a week. She recently started a new job, however, and was unavailable to make the trip.

So when Rivera won, she asked Beth Shingleton of Prospect, a co-worker at the Butler Days Inn, to join her.

Shingleton estimates her bowling average at 85 to 90.

"Jody and I bowl together in the Days Inn Summer League, but that's the only time we bowl," Shingleton said. "I'm a traveling type. If it's a vacation, I'll go anywhere."

Two of the six winning entries were unable to make the trip, so Rivera bowled against three others for the right to face Couch.

"None of us were doing very well and I was actually winning in the ninth frame," Rivera said. "But some guy beat me out."

Rivera bowled a 90. He bowled a 107.

It didn't matter. Rivera became a PBA fan anyway.

As part of the sweepstakes package, Rivera and Shingleton attended the PBA event and socialized with professional bowlers the entire weekend.

"It was awesome," Rivera said. "Those bowlers are so friendly, so down to earth. We made signs and rooted for Norman Duke because he was the nicest one.

"He wound up winning. We were psyched."

Rivera said the tour event "was so intense. I never knew bowling could be like that.

"We're going to pay a lot more attention to the tour now. If and when they come close to Pittsburgh, we'll be there," she added.

As one of the sweepstakes winners, Rivera received a new bowling ball, bag, towel, shirt and hat, along with spending money for the weekend.

She also got to bowl a few frames with Couch.

"I was throwing gutter balls, so he walked halfway down the alley and straddled the lane - putting a foot in each gutter - and told me to roll the ball," she said.

"He said I'd keep it out of the gutter. And he was right," she added.

"Those guys were so easy going, so much fun," Shingleton said.

Rivera confessed she wasn't enthused about making the trip at first.

"I entered this for my mother to enjoy and when she couldn't go, I thought it'd be boring," she said. "It was not boring at all. We had a blast."