Collegiate Ticker - Feb. 1, 2023

The Peru State men and Avila women were able to make their way through the bracket and collect wins last weekend at the Eagle Invitational in Belton, Missouri.

The field included 12 teams in the men’s varsity division and 11 women’s varsity programs. All teams bowled five traditional games and 16 Baker games to determine seeding for the single-elimination bracket, based on total pinfall.

Each team in the field advanced to the bracket. In the men’s bracket, the top four teams received a bye in the first round. In the women’s division, the top five teams received a bye from opening-round competition.

In the men’s division, Iowa Central Community College set the pace during qualifying to earn the top seed for the bracket, finishing with a 7,835 total. Baker was second with 7,732, Ottawa-Kansas was third with 7,710 and Kansas Wesleyan earned the final first-round bye with 7,548.

As the bracket continued to narrow the field, No. 5 Culver-Stockton and No. 6 Peru State emerged from their respective sides of the bracket to advance to the title match.

Culver-Stockton defeated No. 12 Kansas, Ottawa-Kansas and No. 8 Kansas State to advance, while Peru State dispatched No. 11 University of Saint Mary, Kansas Wesleyan and No. 10 Central Methodist to earn its spot in the finals.

The Bobcats were able to record the win in the title tilt over Culver-Stockton.

A pair of student-athletes from Iowa Central CC finished at the top of the men’s individual standings. Jacob Kraft led the field for five games, finishing with a 1,084 total (216.8 average). Braedon Gehrke was second with 1,032.

Kraft rolled games of 200, 224, 181, 233 and 246 for his second individual win of the season.

Ottawa-Kansas’ Jerry Jennings was third with 1,017, Culver-Stockton’s River VanVeghel was fourth with 1,015 and Baker’s Zachery Brehm rounded out the top five with 1,007.

Baker cruised to the top seed during women’s qualifying, finishing with a 7,426 total. Ottawa-Kansas was second with 7,307, while Iowa Central CC was third with 7,182. Columbia (6,776) and Avila (6,495) earned the final two byes through qualifying and faced off in the second round.

Avila was able to defeat Columbia before eliminating Baker to advance to the finals. Ottawa-Kansas also advanced, besting No. 8 College of Saint Mary and Iowa Central CC to set the stage against Avila.

The Eagles were able to secure the title in their home event, defeating Ottawa-Kansas in the championship match.

Baker’s Caitlin Lucas continued her strong season by leading the way in the women’s individual standings. She now has recorded two wins and six top-five finishes in her six events this season.

Lucas was the only student-athlete in the women’s division to average over 200 for the five-game block, rolling scores of 236, 204, 211, 222 and 176 for a 1,049 total (209.8 average).

Columbia’s Breanne West finished as the runner-up with 960 and was followed in the standings by Culver-Stockton’s Kassidy Young (943), Ottawa-Kansas’ Allie Williams (941) and Madisyn Gerdts of Iowa Central CC (928).


In other collegiate action:

- The Vanderbilt women recorded their first win at the Prairie View A&M Invitational since 2012 with a 4-1 victory against Stephen F. Austin in the title match in Arlington, Texas. The event was broadcast live at BowlTV.com.

- At the Sin City Open in Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon men and women swept the top spots.

- At the Rebel Classic in Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon men and women were victorious in bracket play to finish the weekend with a pair of wins.

- At the Red Flash Invitational in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the Duquesne women posted a 4-2 win in the title match against Walsh.

- At the Columbia 300 Saints Invite in Valley Park, Missouri, the Newman women collected the victory after defeating Lewis in the finals, 4-2.

- At the Eastern Intercollegiate Bowling Tournament (EIBT) – Event 5 in Staten Island, New York, the William Paterson men and Nassau CC women ascended to the top of the leaderboard.

- At the Westchester Shootout in Fishkill, New York, the Suffolk-Grant women and SUNY-Binghamton men posted the top pinfall totals.

- At the Westchester Classic in Carmel, New York, the Suffolk-Grant men and Sacred Heart women rolled to big wins.

- At the American Heartland Bowling Association (AHBA) – Event 6 in Sandusky, Ohio, the Trine women edged Alma by 36 pins to record the win. The Trine men completed the sweep for the Thunder after coasting to the top spot by more than 300 pins.

- At the Great Lakes Bowling Conference (GLBC) – Event 3 in Schofield, Wisconsin, the Wisconsin-Whitewater men and Davenport women collected conference wins on the strength of strong traditional blocks.

- At the Crossroads League Bowling (CLB) – Event 3 in Warsaw, Indiana, the Spring Arbor women captured the win by seven pins over Huntington. In the men’s division, Marian-Indiana rolled to victory by 350 pins.

- At the Hawk Challenge in North Brunswick, New Jersey, the Merrimack women led the way in total pinfall on the way to a 9-1 record on the weekend.

- At the SCAD Baker Bash in Lawrenceville, Georgia, the Savannah College of Art and Design-Savannah men and women took the top spots in the all-Baker competition.

For the full schedule of collegiate events, results and more, visit BOWL.com/Collegiate and CollegeBowling.Bowl.com.