VALENCIA — Cashing at the national bowling tournament has not been an issue for John Lorenz.

Winning the thing? Different story.

“I know I’ve never been on a team that’s finished among the top 20 ... I doubt even the top 50,” the Valencia resident said.

Now that’s all changed.

Lorenz, 59, bowled on the University of Oregon alumni team that won the classified team division of the USBC Open this year in Reno, Nevada. The annual event includes hundreds of teams and ran for 129 days.

The classified division involves five-person teams with a composite average not exceeding 180 per bowler. Lorenz, Don Allen and Dean Vrooman are all University of Oregon alumni. Allen’s son, Darrin, and Vrooman’s son, Todd, rounded out the winning squad. They bowled a 2,710 series, beating out runner-up Yeah Spare IV of Sacramento, Calif., by 54 pins.

“This was my tenth year of bowling in the national tournament,” said Lorenz, who moved to Valencia in 2008 and has been bowling in a men’s league at Mars Lanes ever since. “But this is the first time I’ve bowled at nationals with these four guys.

“I bowled on a club team at Oregon when I was in school there. We put together a team from those days to bowl at nationals every year. It’s like a reunion for us.”

This year, it turned into a championship.

“It was nice to see the official results posted and see our names at the top,” Lorenz said. “We had to wait a while.”

The U of O Alumni bowled at nationals May 31. The score to beat was 2,660 at that point.

“If we scored 900 or better each game, we knew we’d get the overall lead,” Lorenz said. “But there were no guarantees it would stand. The tournament had a few more weekends to go.

“By that last game, we tightened up a little bit.”

Their team scores were 923, 911 and 876. Their consistency won out in the end. All five bowlers posted a series above 500. Lorenz rolled games of 180, 171 and 200 for a 551. His average is 174. His team’s highest individual series was 579, the lowest 506.

“We’ve had several bowlers go to nationals from our house and get some money back,” Mars Lanes co-owner Ruth Geller said. “We’ve never had anybody actually win a division like this.

“John’s been bowling on Tuesday night’s here for several years. He’s a good guy and we’re happy for him.”

The highest series Lorenz has ever bowled is a 740. He’s rolled as high as a 594 in tournament play.

Though he’s never bowled a perfect game, Lorenz has rolled a 299 twice. He did so at Mars Lanes within the past two years and once in Eugene, Ore., 12 years ago.

He has twice won Division 3 state bowling tournament titles in Oregon.

“Winning this team championship is at the top of the list for me,” Lorenz said. “Taking first place in a national tournament with your buddies is something you never expect to do.”