Collegiate Ticker - Oct. 19, 2022

The Wichita State men and Oklahoma Christian women rolled through their respective brackets to collect Tier I wins last weekend at the Mid-States Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

The men’s event was contested at Northrock Lanes with 31 varsity programs, and the women’s division was held at West Acres Bowling Center with 25 varsity teams. Qualifying took place Saturday and Sunday with six traditional games and 20 Baker games before the field was cut to the top eight teams for the bracket.

Each round of the bracket featured a best-of-five Baker format with select pairs being broadcast live at BowlTV.com.

Wichita State with Mid-States trophyWichita State dominated qualifying in the men’s division, earning the top seed for the bracket by more than 560 pins with an 11,250 total. St. Ambrose was second with 10,681, and Newman finished third with 10,625. Ottawa-Kansas advanced in eighth place with 10,044.

The Shockers swept Ottawa-Kansas (223-193, 244-200, 252-180) and recorded a 3-1 win over No. 5 Hastings (214-218, 214-205, 265-211, 244-237) to earn a spot in the title match against crosstown rival Newman.

The Jets advanced to the finals with wins against No. 6 Mount Mercy (258-185, 225-193, 277-225) and St. Ambrose (267-176, 199-217, 227-209, 194-168).

The striking continued in Game 1 as Wichita State connected for six in a row to take the early edge, 233-207. Wichita State started slow in Game 2, but a stretch of six strikes in seven shots helped the Shockers take a 2-0 advantage, 209-191.

Wichita State stayed clean in Game 3 to secure the sweep, 215-196. The victory marked the third consecutive win at the event for the Shockers.

Cameron Brundage of Iowa Western CC edged Wichita State’s Spencer Robarge by a single pin for the top spot in the men’s individual standings as both student-athletes averaged over 241 for their six-game block Saturday at Northrock Lanes.

Brundage started strong with games of 266 and 279, and he rolled 299 in Game 4 on his way to a 1,451 total. After 181 in Game 1, Robarge finished with games of 247, 248, 250, 267 and 257 for 1,450.

Newman’s Chasten Pojas (1,395), Wichita State’s Alec Keplinger (1,384) and Oklahoma Christian’s Ashton Holladay (1,370) also finished on the all-tournament team.

In the women’s division, Wichita State paced qualifying with a 9,473 total. Mount Mercy was second with 9,300, and Oklahoma Christian took third with 9,087. William Penn was the final team to advance to the bracket, finishing eighth with 8,863.

Oklahoma Christian with Mid-States trophyOklahoma Christian started its path toward the finals with a sweep over No. 6 Newman (193-157, 181-173, 199-167). In the semifinals, the Eagles went the distance against No. 7 Ottawa-Kansas (167-193, 222-166, 205-215, 178-169, 197-193) to advance to face No. 4 St. Ambrose.

The Fighting Bees rallied over No. 5 Lindenwood (173-203, 149-174, 174-137, 194-158, 187-180) and swept William Penn (198-141, 197-154, 203-186) to earn their spot in the finals.

Oklahoma Christian stayed clean in Game 1 to record a 224-173 win and held on in the 10th frame to collect Game 2, 192-186.

In Game 3, the Eagles started with five consecutive strikes and posted eight of the first nine to cruise to a 243-195 victory. The win is the first Tier I title for the women’s program at Oklahoma Christian.

Wichita State’s Juliana Botero rolled 279 in Game 5 on Saturday at West Acres Bowling Center to claim top individual honors in the women’s division, finishing with a 1,237 total.

Mount Mercy’s Jenna Williams (1,233) and Culver-Stockton’s Carlee Hummel (1,228) were next in the standings. Coe’s Michaela Beckmann, who finished first at the Midwest Collegiate Championships (Tier I), was fourth with 1,227, and Lindenwood’s Hailey Bozych took fifth with 1,199.

In other collegiate action:

- At the SHU Bowl for the Cure Tournament in Fairfield, Connecticut, the Sacred Heart women went 9-0 and posted the top pinfall total.

- At the Chippewa Valley Invite in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, top qualifier Wisconsin-Oshkosh went undefeated and swept Wisconsin-Stout in the men’s title match, 3-0.

- At the Colonial Lanes Classic in Harahan, Louisiana, the Maryland Eastern Shore women posted an 11-0 record and bested Louisiana Tech in the finals, 4-1.

- At the Cornerstone University Tournament in Grandville, Michigan, the Spring Arbor men and women captured the top spot in each division.

- At the Eastern Intercollegiate Bowling Tournament – Event 2 in North Brunswick, New Jersey, the William Paterson men and Fairleigh Dickinson women finished at the top of the standings.

- At the Motiv Penguin Classic in Struthers, Ohio, the Nebraska women collected the victory with a 4-2 win over Youngstown State.

- At the Mount Shootout in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, the Mount St. Mary’s women cruised to the top spot in total pinfall while recording a 9-1 record.

- At the Western Shootout in Indianapolis, the Saint Xavier men snuck past Calumet for a six-pin victory, and the Pikeville women rolled to a big win by more than 500 pins.

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