On Saturday, April 25, Cleveland junior Sam Leader took a “7-10 split” during his league bowling competition. Many familiar with bowling will know that this technique is not easy. The talented student made this very rare feat early on in his competition.

A 7-10 split is when the bowler is left with the leftmost and rightmost pins in the back row (pins number seven and 10). This is one of the most difficult splits to pick up. The odds of success are one out of every 145 times it occurs, or .07 percent rate among professionals. The 7-10 split is one of the most iconic bowls starring in a variety of movies, and making itself known as “the most difficult shot in bowling.”

On the morning of April 25, Leader arrived at a bowling alley in Milwaukie to play in a league with his friends from some other schools in the Portland area. It was just during the first game when he made the iconic bowl. “I took the 7-10 split and then everyone was applauding and cheering me on,” Leader commented.

“I felt really good about it and I am still really happy about it,” he said. The young bowler reflected on the eventful day, saying, “It was a very hard chance, most people don’t get it but I was lucky enough to get it.”

Garrick Saito from an online bowling forum says, “I’ve been bowling since I was five years old. In 45 years of bowling, I’ve never seen it done live (and I’ve watched thousands of attempts). During my lifetime, I’ve seen it done only twice on television by professional bowlers.”

Obviously this is a shining and well deserved achievement for Leader.

Leader’s dad, Sid, who saw the moment, says, “I knew Sam would do something great at Cleveland. I just knew it.”

Overall, Leader says that “the day went pretty good. I felt happy about it and I couldn’t stop thinking about it after it happened.”

Although not competing with Cleveland, Leader is obviously a talented and very lucky bowler. He will continue to compete with his friends and to one day take on the difficult feat again.