Both Bowling Teams Make Finals, Men’s Team Takes Championship

Keokuk–The William Penn bowling teams traveled to Keokuk this weekend to leave their mark on the Heart of America Athletic Conference championships.

Both teams turned in phenomenal performances. The men’s team left as conference champions, while the women’s team fell just short of the crown, finishing their conference slate in second place.

Before the action began on championship Sunday, the Statesmen received numerous all-Heart honorees from each team. Jayson Miner (Jr., Silvis, Ill., Business Management), Rok Kostric (Sr., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management), and Aleksander Kostric (Sr., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management) were all honored as first-team all-Heart members, while Jake Cook (Jr., Keokuk, Iowa, Physical Education)and Brandon Freese (Sr., Marshalltown, Iowa, Software Engineering) were named second-team all-Heart. On the women’s side, Gabi Evans (So., West Liberty, Iowa, Psychology and Sociology) captured second-team all-Heart honors. Head Coach Brandon Brooks was recognized as the men’s Coach of the Year as well.

In the first day of competition consisting of 28 Baker games, the men’s team grabbed the lead after eight games and never looked back. At each new update after game 12, 16, 20, and 28, the men’s team remained on top as the overall leader. Grand View made things a little interesting, cutting the lead within 100 total pins at the 20 game mark, but the Statesmen really pulled away in the last eight games, entering championship Sunday as the top seed by over a 260 pin margin. The navy and gold finished with a total pin count of 5,557, 263 pins over second place Baker. The team’s total pin count for the day was good for a 198 average per game.

The women’s team started off on a slower pace. They found themselves in fourth place after the first eight games, facing a 174 pin deficit to first place Clarke. The ladies really made some noise on their way to the 12 game mark, overtaking Grand View and Baker to thrust themselves into second place. The Vikings would sneak back into second place at the 16 game mark, holding the narrowest of leads over the Statesmen at 2717-2716. The ladies would slip back into fourth at the 20 game mark, but found themselves as the third seed entering championship Sunday. Their 4,809 total pin count resulted in a 172 per game average for the day.

Championship Sunday kicked off favorably for the Statesmen as the women’s team dispatched Culver-Stockton in the opening round of bracket play, 3-1. The men’s team, having earned a first round bye in bracket play after earning the top seed, also advanced to the next round.

The second round kept the Statesmen momentum going as the men’s team made quick work of Culver-Stockton, moving onto the semi-finals after a quick 3-0 victory. The women’s team found themselves with stiffer competition against Clarke, working their way to a five game match, but ultimately dropping the second round contest, 3-2, and finding themselves in the elimination bracket.

After taking care of Culver-Stockton in the first round of the elimination bracket 3-1, the ladies proceeded to eliminate Grand View by an identical 3-1 margin. The victory over the Vikings set up a semi-final rematch against the Clarke Pride, who had sent the Statesmen into the elimination bracket to begin with. The navy and gold would reign supreme in their second meeting of the day, moving onto the final round after a 3-1 victory.

Meanwhile, the men’s team faced a tough challenge from Grand View in their own semi final match, but ultimately claimed a 3-2 victory to jettison themselves into the championship round. The Vikings defeated Culver-Stockton in the elimination brackets to set up a rematch in the final round.

The women’s team took on the Baker Wildcats in the final round. The ladies put up a strong fight against Baker and their three all-Heart honorees, but ultimately finished as runners up after dropping the championship match, 4-2. The men’s team also found themselves in a hotly contested contest, but they rose to the challenge and took the seventh and deciding game to win the conference championship over Grand View, 4-3.

The first place finish for the men’s team is their first in three years as a member of the Heart and comes after two consecutive years of finishing as the runner up. The second place finish for the women’s team continued a strong run of play for them as members of the Heart and improved on their third place finish from last year.

What’s Next: The bowling teams will head to Lawrence, Kan. to participate in the second Jayhawk Challenge of the season next weekend.