Second-Day Improvements Move WPU to 13th at ISYL Leatherneck Classic

Rockford, Ill.–The William Penn men’s bowling team made a push but eventually fell short of bracket play as it competed at the ISYL Leatherneck Classic last Saturday and Sunday.

The Statesmen placed 13th out of 39 teams with 7,919 pins in five regular games and 16 Baker games. Mount Mercy topped the qualifying standings with 8,550 pins, but No. 7 seed Newman (Kan.) took the bracket crown.

Jaysen Spanbauer of Marian (Wis.) led the field with a 238.0 average (1,190 pins).

Aidan Piet (Jr., Meridian, Idaho, Business Management) was WPU’s top roller with a 207.0 average (1,035 pins) to place 35th overall.

Gavin Unger (Fr., Columbus, Neb., Engineering Technology) was right behind his teammate with a 204.8 average, while Ethan Zieglowsky (Sr., Washington, Iowa, Biology) averaged 198.6 pins; the duo started all five individual games.

Brock Alderson (So., Sigourney, Iowa, Biology) (170.3 average) and Ethan Licht (So., Victor, Iowa, Sports Management) (169.5) both started four rounds. Carter Boley (Sr., Grimes, Iowa, Exercise Science) knocked down 176 pins in his lone game, while Lucas Newman (Sr., Bloomington, Minn., Information Technology) collected 173 pins in his only start.

Aidan Majer (So., Yorkville, Ill., General Accounting) was the leader of the Statesmen reserve squad that finished 16th out of 30 JV teams with 7,357 pins. Majer was near the top of the overall standings with a 206.8 average.

“The guys struggled to start on Saturday, but bowled great on Sunday and made up a lot of ground,” Head Coach Kirstin Foster said. “They have now seen what they can do, so this was a good confidence booster going into our next few tournaments.”