Collegiate Ticker - Jan. 29, 2020

The Wright State men and Duquesne women kicked off last weekend with victories at the American Heartland Intercollegiate Bowling Conference No. 3 in Pittsburgh.

The one-day event was held at AMF Mt. Lebanon Lanes on Saturday, welcoming 15 men's and 15 women's varsity programs. Teams competed in five traditional games and 12 Baker games to determine the champion in each division.

In the men's division, Wright State started strong during its traditional block but faltered down the stretch, dropping from first to third in the standings. The Raiders bounced back in Baker competition, reclaiming the top spot and claiming the win with a 7,195 total. Robert Morris-Pennsylvania finished second with 7,167 and Rio Grande took third with 6,917.

Individually, Rio Grande's Chris Somerville paced the field with a five-game score of 1,134 (a 226.8 average). Wright State's Cole Skelley finished second with 1,128, edging Davenport's Grant Oehler by two pins. Robert Morris-Pennsylvania's Kyle Wilkinson (1,099) and Ohio State's Nolan Postolka (1,048) also finished in the top five.

The Duquesne women bowled the only traditional game over 1,000 in the women's division (1,061 in Game 2) to set the early pace and rolled to the win with a 7,041 total. Wright State was second with 6,849, and Alma was third with 6,799.

Wright State's Briann McKnight finished with games of 246 and 255 to cruise to the top individual honor, finishing with a 1,096 total (a 219.2 average). McKnight was followed in the standings by four student-athletes from Duquesne. Kiearra Saldi was second overall and paced the Dukes contingent with a 1,024 score. She was joined by Allison Hresko (976), Jessica Cadez (960) and Olivia Farwell (957).

Both the Wright State men and Duquesne women also claimed the top spots at Sunday's AHIBC No. 4.

In other USBC Collegiate action over the weekend:

- At the Sin City Open in Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon men and Colorado Mesa women toppled the most pins.

- At the Columbia 300 Saints Invite in Chesterfield, Missouri, the McKendree women won the final three games in the title match against Arkansas State to record a 4-2 bracket win.

- At the Red Flash Invitational in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the Mount St. Mary's women went the distance in a back-and-forth final with St. Francis-Pennsylvania, winning the deciding game, 191-146, to claim the title, 4-3.

- At the Rattler Invitational in Pensacola, Florida, the Jackson State women defeated top seed Florida A&M to take the victory, 4-2.

- At the Rebel Classic in Las Vegas, the Arizona State men and Grand Canyon women were able to stay undefeated in bracket play to record wins.

- At the Great Lakes Bowling Conference No. 3 in Green Bay, Wis., the Wisconsin-Milwaukee women and Wisconsin-Whitewater men cruised to big wins.

- At the Clarke Invite in Dubuque, Iowa, the Grand View men and women swept the top spots.

- At the Westchester Shoot Out in Fishkill, New York, the Sacred Heart women and Stevens Institute of Technology men rolled to the top spots.

- At the Westchester Classic in Carmel, New York, the Suffolk-Grant men recorded a 446-pin victory, while the Sacred Heart women completed the weekend sweep.

For complete results and the full schedule for the 2019-2020 season, click here.