Statesmen Claim Heart Crown, Fourth Ever and First Since 2019
Topeka, Kan.–After earning runner-up status for the past three years, the William Penn women’s bowling team was finally able to again hoist the banner as it won the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship which was held last Saturday and Sunday.
WPU swept rival Grand View for the title, collecting its four league crown in program history and first since the 2018-2019 campaign.
The navy and gold entered match play as the #3 seed (out of six teams) after tallying 4,128 pins in 24 Baker games. Baker won qualifying with 4,272 pins.
However, once bracket competition started, William Penn was a proverbial wrecking ball, opening with a 3-1 victory over #6 seed Clarke.
The Statesmen then swept #2 Culver-Stockton in three games before taking care of #4 Grand View 3-1 to reach the championship round.
William Penn, which had placed second each of the last three campaigns to Baker, unfortunately did not have the opportunity to avenge those heartbreaks as the Wildcats were eliminated early in the consolation bracket. Instead, the rival Vikings of GVU, who knocked off BU on the winner’s side, returned for another shot at WPU.
The Statesmen would not be denied this time around, blowing past Grand View 4-0 with scores of 169-158, 207-193, 179-159, 216-145.
The league title earns William Penn an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship which will be held March 21-23 in Sterling Heights, Mich. It is WPU’s fifth appearance at NAIA Nationals (four since the sport earned Championship status) and third in a row.
Conference championship team members included Kelcey Aczon (So., Las Vegas, Nev., Nursing), Gabi Evans (Sr., West Liberty, Iowa, Psychology and Sociology), Sammantha Meyers (Jr., Rockford, Ill., Elementary Education), Christy Mottier (Sr., Madison, Wis., Business Management), Olivia Nolte (Sr., Atkins, Iowa, Elementary Education), Caitlin Radliff (Jr., Belleville, Ill., Software Engineering), Madison Ross (Sr., Charles City, Iowa, Exercise Science), and Cydnee Whiteleather (Sr., Lehigh Acres, Fla., Elementary Education).
“The girls fought hard this weekend,” Head Coach Kirstin Foster said. “Saturday started off slow, but once they figured it out, they were unstoppable. They came together as a team and relied on each other when times were tough. I am proud of what they accomplished and this is a good confidence booster going into USBC Sectionals and NAIA Nationals.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Fort Worth, Texas on March 8-10 to compete in the USBC Intercollegiate Singles and Team Sectionals.
