Men’s Bowling Finishes in 22nd
Indianapolis, Ind. — Only one more competition remained for the men’s bowling team before the beginning of the playoff season. William Penn was coming off an impressive outing at the McKendree Baker Challenge and there was good vibes heading into the Hoosier Classic. The team again had some great sets but unfortunately could not qualify for the knockout rounds, finishing in 22nd. The team knocked down a total of 8,609 pins.
78 teams competed in the event with eight teams making the knockout rounds. St. Ambrose would win the tournament with Jordan Shepherd of Marian (Ind.) winning the individual crown.
The Statesmen started the first day of play off with a bang as they posted a pin score of 1,008 in set number one. They fell off that pace a little in set two, posting a total pin-fall of 898. But the squad responded in the next two sets, putting up scores of 974 and 997. They then posted their second big score of the day with a 1,101 in the fourth set. The team ended day one in eighth position and was set to make another run at some hardware.
Unfortunately, the baker games were harder for the team at this event as they dropped to 11th after the first set and 18th after the second set. The team would end up finishing in 22nd place at the end of Sunday. Despite the team finish, there were still were still some good play from the group individually.
Rok Kostric (Jr., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management) had a fantastic weekend for the Statesmen. He had a top-10 finish as he came home in ninth. He put up an average score of 218 over six games on way to his third top-10 of the year. He twice hit 244 pins during the event as his high score. His brother Aleksander Kostric (Jr., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management) finished in 29th. His average over six games was a 210.3 and his high score was a 238.
Jake Cook (So., Keokuk, Iowa, Physical Education) was the next roller for WPU as he scored an average of 197.5 over six games. His best score was a 223 in the sixth game. Brandon Freese (Jr., Marshalltown, Iowa, Software Engineering) posted an average of 196 over four games with a high score of 234. Logan Mason (Sr., Knoxville, Iowa, Business Management) was involved in three games, delivering an average score of 209.3 and a high of 232. Austin Czerwinski (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Physical Education) was also in three games, putting up an average of 179.3 with a high of 188. Jayson Miner (So., Silvis, Ill., Physical Education) got in two games, with scores of 200 and 148, good for an average of 175.
“The Hoosier is the largest tournament of the year,” said head coach Brandon Brooks. “It’s known for being one of the most challenging tournaments as far as lane patterns go. This year proved no different. The men put themselves in a pretty good place on Saturday ending up 8th after day one. Sunday was pretty tough and we ended up falling to 22nd. Obviously, it’s a little disappointing to fall on the final day but we have some positives from the weekend and will work hard the next couple weeks before post season begins.”
Next Up: Crunch time for the bowling teams as the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship will be the next event for the Statesmen. The event will be Feb. 29 – March 1 in Dubuque, Iowa.
