WPU Battles in Las Vegas Tourneys

Las Vegas, Nev.–The Statesmen men’s bowling team spent part of its holiday break in Sin City competing at two prestigious tournaments last week.

At the Glenn Carlson Las Vegas Invitational, William Penn was 11th out of 37 teams with 8,930 pins in nine games; Urbana (Ohio) led qualifying with 9,445 pins.  The navy and defeated #6 San Jose State (Calif.) 3-2 in the first round, but bowed out with a 3-0 quarterfinal loss to eventual champion Calumet-St. Joseph (Ind.).

Tyler Woods of Kansas was first with a 230.3 average, while Stian Hoff (Jr., Orkanger, Norway, General Accounting) was 12th in the 246-person field with a 210.1 average.

Nick Walker (Fr., Zeeland, Mich., Business Management), at 201.2, Michael Applegate (Sr., Council Bluffs, Iowa, Secondary Education), at 198.8, and Jacques Kaune (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska, Business Management), at 197.4, also started all nine games.

Travis Scott (Sr., West Saint Paul, Minn., Physical Education) posted a 189.5 clip in six games and Ryan Howard (Jr., King, N.C., Information Technology) tallied a 175.0 mark in three games.

The Statesmen’s second crew was first out of four JV teams with 8,425 pins; WPU lost to Pikeville (Ky.) in the finals.

Curtis Majka (So., Elgin, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) was the best JV roller with a 202.6 clip.  Cory Rissman (Sr., Yorkville, Ill., Industrial Technology) started all nine games as well with a 196.2 mark.

Connor Frederick (Sr., Ottumwa, Iowa, History/Government) was next at 179.9 in eight games, while Kevin Wesely (Sr., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Industrial Technology) recorded a 193.4 average in seven starts.  Jason Forsyth (Fr., Weatherford, Texas, Business Management) and Cody Adair (Jr., Kearns, Utah, Industrial Technology) both started four games with identical 166.3 averages.  Ryan Racimo (Jr. Olympia, Wash., Exercise Science), with an average of 203.0, and Rylie Reidel (So., Knoxville, Iowa, Business Management), with an average of 153.5, both started two games.

At the Las Vegas Collegiate Shootout, WPU placed 13th out of 38 squads with 10,957 pins in six games and four rounds of Bakers.  Calumet-St. Joseph collected the team title with 12,443 pins, while Ramon Hilferink of Webber International (Fla.) led qualifying with a 252.7 average.

Kaune was WPU’s top varsity competitor, placing 25th at 214.7.  He was joined by four other teammates who also averaged over 200, including Quincy Bruce (So., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, General Accounting) at 203.2.  Applegate was next at 201.8, while Walker and Hoff wrapped it up at 200.7 and 200.3, respectively.

William Penn’s JV was again first out of four JV teams with 9,635 pins.  Frederick (215.8) and Majka (208.7) both started six games, while Adair (200.0, five games) was also over 200.  Forsyth averaged 191.0 in four games, while the trio of Rissman (190.0), Racimo (185.3), and Reidel (160.7) each started three rounds.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Addison, Ill. on January 9-10 to compete at the Roto Grip Eagles Baker Challenge.

William Penn Women Place 12th Twice in Nevada

Las Vegas, Nev.–The Statesmen women’s bowling team ended its pre-holiday slate with two tournaments in Nevada last week.

At the Glenn Carlson Las Vegas Invitational, William Penn was 12th out of 18 teams with 8,043 pins in nine games; Wichita State (Kan.) led qualifying with 8,961 pins.  #3 seed Pikeville (Ky.) eventually won the bracket crown.

Katelyn Hull of Urbana (Ohio) was first with a 209.1 average, while Stephanie Adams (Jr., Souris, Manitoba, Business Management) guided the Statesmen in eighth at 201.7. Montana Pence (Sr., Stronghurst, Ill., Elementary Education) also rolled all nine games with a 187.4 average.

Amber Ovel (Fr., Waterloo, Iowa, Business Management) averaged 168.0 pins in eight games and Briell Newberry (So., Holland, Mich., Secondary Education) had a 164.9 clip in seven games.  MacKenzie Boyd (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Human Services/Sociology) (186.2, six games), Audra Farley (So., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Education) (161.4, five games), and Emily Braga (Sr., Newton, Iowa, Communications) (119, one game) finished the varsity’s efforts.

At the Las Vegas Collegiate Shootout, WPU placed 12th out of 19 squads with 9,739 pins in six games and four rounds of Bakers.  Wichita State took the team title with 12,616 pins, while WSU’s Dasha Kovalova led qualifying with a 233.7 average.

Adams again paced WPU in 17th place at 206.5, while Boyd (188.0), Pence (185.5), and Newberry (181.7) also started all six games.

Farley averaged 184.8 pins in four games and Ovel averaged 163.0 in two starts.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Addison, Ill. on January 9-10 to compete at the Roto Grip Eagles Baker Challenge.
Story provided by Wade Steinlage