Statesmen Place Eighth at Las Vegas Collegiate Shootout
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Las Vegas, Nev.–The William Penn women’s bowling team had a great showing in Baker action as it competed at the Las Vegas Collegiate Shoot-Out Wednesday and Thursday.
WPU was eighth out of 27 teams with 8,031 pins in six regular games and 16 Baker games (including bonus pins for high group finishes). Wichita State (Kan.) took the team crown with 8,849 pins.
The navy and gold were well outside of the top 10 after regular play, but recorded the second-highest pin total in Baker competition to move up the standings.
Abby Ragsdale of St. Francis (Ill.) led the 171-player field with a 211.8 average
Kayla Gifford (Jr., Camanche, Iowa, Biology) wrapped up a stellar week in Las Vegas with her second top-10 finish, taking seventh at 191.2.
Bailey Palmer (Jr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Biology) also rolled in all six rounds with a 171.0 clip.
Jaelynn Klein (Fr., Muscatine, Iowa, Communications), at 168.5, and Kaylee Gerken (Sr., Dubuque, Iowa, Elementary Education), at 152.5, both started four games, while Amber Ovel (Sr., Waterloo, Iowa, Psychology) (156.3) and Jade Klinefelter (Fr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa) (156.0) each started three rounds.
Nicole Craft (Jr., Wakefield, Neb., Physical Education) managed a 167.5 mark in two games; Nicole Mottier (So., Madison, Wis., Computer Science) also started a pair of games with a 150.0 average.
“All of our women took on a role, but Kayla really stepped up and was a huge asset this week as our anchor,” Head Coach Brandon Brooks said. “The ladies really bowled well Thursday to make a run and get back into the top eight.”
“This week’s two tournaments could not have been more different,” Brooks added. “The first one had a much higher scoring pace than the second, so early Wednesday morning it took some recalibrating mentally for everyone to adjust to the harder conditions. For us to finish as well as we did in both tournaments shows that we are one of the most versatile teams in the country. I am really proud of how we came together this week to have success.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to action on January 19-20 by traveling to Addison, Ill. to compete in the Kegel/ISBPA Midwest Collegiate Classic.
