The top-ranked college bowler in America honed his craft in Kinston.

According to CollegeBowling.com, Webber International’s Nash Medico has the highest average score of any other player at 222.25. Medico, a junior at the Babson Park, Fla. college, moved from his hometown of Kinston in the fifth grade, but developed his love for the game years prior to that.

“It’s unbelievable coming from where I was at 10 to 15 years ago,” Medico said. “I remember my mom trying to get me to play different sports in kindergarten, but I didn’t have the interest and then one weekend, we went to Galaxy of Sports.

“From there, it just felt like bowling was something I was meant to do.”

Angie Medico-Elkins, Nash’s mother, said her son figured out his passion early and continued to develop.

“We tried everything — T-ball, football, basketball,” Medico-Elkins said. “He didn’t stick with it because it wasn’t a good fit for him,. I remember one time when he was 6 we went bowling at the Galaxy and came across a kid’s league every Saturday. He got so excited about it and when we moved to Greenville, S.C. when he was 11, he was getting more coaching.

“He started competing in tournaments and by the time he was 13, he was beating out men. He was going online and learning about trajectory, different lane conditions and topography of lanes. He wanted to learn everything about how bowling balls work, made adjustments and his average kept going.”

Medico’s work ethic throughout the years and strong teaching helped him garner a scholarship at Webber International.

“I had a lot of people I looked up to, including (PBA Bowler) Tommy Jones,” Medico said. “He invited me over because he knew I was going to college soon and gave me seven or eight bowling balls. A lot of people were in the youth leagues in South Carolina — you would see a full house at times with 32 lanes of bowlers.

“As the youth league got smaller over time, I started playing in tournaments with people older than me and it helped me get better.”

Medico, a finance major, plans to move back to South Carolina and start a real estate business, but will continue to enjoy the sport.

“I’ll never stop bowling,” Medico said. “I love the competition and will play in tournaments where I can after college.”