Collegiate Ticker - Oct. 18, 2023

The 2023-2024 United States Bowling Congress Collegiate season marched on last weekend as nine events were bowled, highlighted by the Columbia 300 Western Shootout in Indianapolis.

A total of 32 men’s teams and 27 women’s teams competed in the tournament, with a format of six individual games and 16 Baker games. Total pinfall determined the winner in each division.

In the women’s division, Midway had a slow start on Day 1, finishing the traditional block in third place with a 5,882 total. The Eagles blazed through Baker competition Sunday, however, averaging just over 215 to end with a 9,328 total to run away with their second win of the season by over 200 pins. Calumet finished second with 9,104.

Morgan Nunn of Indiana Tech led the women’s field, rolling games of 166, 226, 254, 258, 279 and 205 for a 1,388 total. Joining Nunn on the all-tournament was Saint Xavier’s Megan Gillson (1,347), Judson’s Chloe Siezega (1,346), William Woods’ Izzy Fletcher (1,322) and Calumet’s Paige Plautz (1,297).

On the men’s side, Purdue held off Saint Xavier (9,895-9,827) to take home its first win of the season, with the rest of the top five within 200 pins of first place.

Purdue’s Ryan Burton had a huge individual performance Saturday, shooting games of 238, 279, 268, 247, 245 and 234 for a 1,511 total, good for a 251.8 average, leading the men’s division. Davenport’s Nicholas Luther (1,429), Purdue’s Lucas Francis (1,427), Tennessee Wesleyan’s Devean Littlejohn (1,413) and Calumet’s Alexander Linnenbrink (1,410) joined Burton on the all-tournament team.

In other collegiate action:

- At the SCAD Shootout in Savannah, Georgia, the Emmanuel men and Webber women recorded their first wins of the season.

- The Bud Whitman Memorial in New Castle, Delaware, saw Long Island upset No. 1 Delaware State for the bracket win in seven games.

- At the Colonial Lanes Classic in Harahan, Louisiana, North Carolina A&T won in six games over Louisiana Tech.

- At the Eastern Intercollegiate Bowling Tournament (EIBT)- Event 1 in Oakland, New Jersey, the William Paterson men and Bloomfield women walked away with wins.

- At the Great Lakes Bowling Conference (GLBC)- Event 1 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Marian-Wisconsin swept the weekend as both men and women won.

- The Grapevine Classic in Erie, Pennsylvania, saw St. Vincent win eight of their 10 matches to take home the title.

- At the first ever Mid Iowa Bowling Conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Iowa Western CC men and Coe women left with their first and second wins of the season, respectively.  

- The Penguin Classic in Struthers, Ohio, saw Arkansas State lead and take home the win in four games against Youngstown State.

Next weekend, the second Tier I event of the season will be contested as Northrock Lanes in Wichita, Kansas, will host the Mid-States Championships. Select pairs will be livestreamed on BowlTV.com.

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