Statesmen Take Silver at Heart Tourney
Topeka, Kan.–The William Penn men’s bowling team had a rollercoaster ride of a weekend, eventually finishing second at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship Saturday and Sunday.
WPU was the strongest team in the eight-team qualifying, posting the top score of 4,485 pins in 24 Baker games.
Unfortunately, the navy and gold faltered right out of the gate in match play, being swept 3-0 by #8 seed Missouri Valley to drop to the consolation bracket in the double-elimination event.
Taking the scenic tour, the Statesmen notched four wins in a row to reach the championship round. The road started by nipping #5 seed Clarke 3.5-2.5 before also being forced to the limit with a 3-2 victory over #7 Central Methodist.
WPU then got hot and swept #2 Baker 3-0 to get to the consolation finals. In that round, William Penn collected yet another win, dropping #6 Culver-Stockton 3-1 to advance to the championship round.
Needing a pair of victories to snatch the league crown, unfortunately the Statesmen failed in their quest. The squad fell behind 3-0 to #4 Grand View, but then rattled off three consecutive games to force a seventh and final round. Unfortunately, WPU came up short 179-170 and could not require an ‘if-necessary’ match in a 4-3 loss.
Overall, the navy and gold posted a 4-2 record at the Championship.
Team members included Carter Boley (So., Grimes, Iowa, Engineering), Conor Fetherston (So., Dublin, Ireland, Software Engineering), Bryce Keykal (Jr., Princeton, Minn., Education), Noah Kidwell (Fr., Bettendorf, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering), Aidan Piet (Fr., Meridian, Idaho, Business Management), Garraty Richmond (Sr., Ottumwa, Iowa, New Media), Kody Sapp (Sr., Donnelson, Iowa, Industrial Technology), and Jared Smith (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, General Accounting).
“This was a tough loss, but overall I am happy with how we played,” Head Coach Cameron Foster said. “They never gave up and fought hard all the way to the end. It is disappointing we will not be joining the ladies at NAIA Nationals, but we will use this as fuel to make a run at sections in a couple weeks.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Fort Worth, Texas on March 8-10 to compete in the USBC Intercollegiate Singles and Team Sectionals.
