Red-Hot William Penn Wins Third Event of Season
Kansas — It was another big weekend for the Statesmen men’s bowling team as it traveled to Kansas for the Jayhawk Challenge. With seven teams competing, William Penn once again blasted its way to a first-place result on Saturday and Sunday. With the prime spot in the bracket Sunday, the Statesmen never let the momentum slip as they beat Ottawa and Baker to claim their third-straight title.
Rok Kostric (Sr., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management) returned home with the individual prize with a 220.2 pin average, an average of eight pins better than second place.
The event featured Heart of America Athletic Conference teams along with Ottawa and Morningside with a total of 81 bowlers participating. The opening day saw William Penn just edge out Baker for the top seed. The team played at a high level, never slipping below 900 in any games (lowest of 922). The other scores were 995, 983, 995, 1,031, and 992. WPU ended up with an average of 986.3 over the six games they rolled, beating Baker by 49 pins.
It was a brilliant event for the Kostric brothers. Rok had four games over 200, with a high of 234 in his fourth game. His 1,321 pins were the most on the men’s side, with the next highest being 1,272. Brother Aleksander Kostric (Sr., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management) finished in seventh with an average of 197.5 (1,185 total pins, high of 214).
Brandon Freese (Sr., Marshalltown, Iowa, Software Engineering) was next up for the navy and gold with a 12th-place finish with 1,149 total pins and an average of 191.5. His high score was a 223 over six games. Jared Smith (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, General Accounting) had 943 pins over five games for an average of 188.6. His top score was a 238 in his second game.
Jayson Miner (Jr., Silvis, Ill., Business Management) rolled four games, producing an average of 193 with a high of 222. Ryan Dudley (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska, Business Management) played two games with scores of 171 and 164. Jake Cook (Jr., Keokuk, Iowa, Physical Education) put down a 213 in his only game of the opening day.
With the top spot in the bracket, the Statesmen drew Ottawa in the first matchup. While the Braves stole one game, WPU won two straight to advance to the finals. Baker would be the opponent in the final, but the defending Heart champions could not defeat the Statesmen this day as WPU won 2-0 to take home the first-place trophy.
It was also a successful event for WPU’s varsity reserve. Dawson Greene (Fr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Digital Communication) finished eighth with a pin average of 197.3, while Caleb Sterbenz (Fr., West Liberty, Iowa, Applied Computer Science) and Austin Czerwinski (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Computer Science) came home 19th and 20th, respectively, with averages of 177 and 176.8. The team finished in first place Saturday with 8,156 pins, edging out Grand View’s 7,962. They got into the bracket on Sunday, but dropped their matchup to the Vikings 2-0.
“The men had another fantastic showing to welcome back Coach (Nick) Walker,” said Head Coach Brandon Brooks. “They led from game one and never looked back. I am really excited to see these guys in the second semester.”
Next Up: With the first half in the books, the team will have to wait until January 16-17 for their next event, when they will return to the Kegel/ISBPA Midwest Collegiate Classic that weekend in Addison, Ill.
