COLUMBUS — Several records were set as the Ohio Bowling Conference held its second event Saturday at the Columbus Square Bowling Palace.
Varsity teams bowled five regular games and 12 Baker System games while junior varsity squads rolled fours regular games and 10 Baker games.
Northwestern Ohio finished with 8,213 total pinfall to top the men’s division, including a single-game team mark of 1,267. Northwestern Ohio’s total pinfall also sent a conference mark.
Northwestern Ohio finished 488 pins ahead of runner-up Robert Morris (7,725), with Ohio State (7,690) taking third. Walsh finished 10th in the field.
In the women’s division, Wright State claimed the title with 6,851, finishing 254 pins ahead of runner-up Rio Grande (6,697) with Muskingum taking third (6,631). Walsh finished eighth overall.
Muskingum’s Kayle Hauck turned in a record tourney high game of 275, with Rio Grande’s Hannah Halstead having the high record series with 1,083.
Northwestern Ohio’s Matthew Richards led the men’s division with 1,274, followed by teammates Devin Flows (1,223) and Britton Hole (1,190). Walsh’s top finisher was Chase Barstow, taking 11th with 1,095.
Rio’s Caity Moody took second behind her teammate with 1,030. Mia Sayles led Wright State with 896, good for 15th overall. Jessica Lawrence was high for Walsh with 889 (19th).
See complete results at the end of this report.
OTHER COLLEGE EVENTS
The 2023-2024 United States Bowling Congress Collegiate season continued last week with the second Tier I event of the year, the Mid-States Championships, held at Northrock Lanes (men) and Bowlero Northridge (women) in Wichita, Kansas.
After six individual games and 20 Baker games, the top eight in the men’s and women’s division moved on to a best-of-five match-play bracket.
The Wisconsin-Whitewater men and Newman women each battled their way to their first Tier I victories of the season.
The Wisconsin-Whitewater men qualified fifth for the bracket and would lose only two games while making their run for the title, defeating Southern Nazarene (3-1), Oklahoma Christian (3-1) and sweeping Newman in the finals.
Wichita State was the top qualifier in the men’s division, pacing the field by more than 600 pins.
In the men’s individual standings, Wichita State’s Spencer Robarge had a big day to lead the tournament, shooting games of 254, 266, 225, 235, 215 and 266 for a 1,461 total and a 243.5 average. Robarge was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Ryan Barnes, who was third with a 1,369 total, and Brandon Bonta, fifth with a 1,363 total. Also on the all-tournament team was St. Ambrose’s Cameron Crowe, second at 1,374, and Lindenwood’s Emmanuel McPherson, fourth at 1,367.
On the women’s side, Newman qualified second and was down 0-2 to Lindenwood in the first round before winning the next three games to move on to face Ottawa-Kansas. Newman would then sweep Ottawa-Kansas to face off against No. 1 Mount Mercy in the finals. Mount Mercy would take Game 1, but Newman took the next three games to take home the victory.
Oklahoma Christian’s Tori Justice led the women’s field, rolling games of 214, 202, 178, 203, 220 and 203 for a 1,220 total. Baker’s Kinsey Miller (1,215), Mount Mercy’s Brooke Salzman (1,204), Ottawa-Kansas’ Jadyn Barr (1,183), Wichita State’s Mary Orf and Southern Nazarene’s Sienna Stoner (tied for fifth at 1,170) joined Justice on the all-tournament team.
In other collegiate action:
* At the Cornerstone University Bowling Tournament in Grandville, Mich., Spring Arbor swept both the men’s and women’s division.
* At the Golden Bear Classic in Sinking Spring, Pa., Mount St. Mary’s defeated Felician in five games to win the tournament.
* At the Orange & Black Classic in Centerville (women) and Beavercreek (men), Ohio, Pikeville swept the weekend, winning both the Black and Orange events for men and women.
* At the SHU Bowl for the Cure in East Haven, Conn.t, Sacred Heart lead the way in pinfall and posted a 7-3 record for the weekend.
* At the Stout Open in Eau Claire, Wis., the Wisconsin-Oshkosh men and Iowa State women got through their brackets to take home the win.
- At the Warhawk Classic in Madison, Wis., Vanderbilt and Wisconsin-Whitewater would both post a 13-1 record, with Vanderbilt taking the win as they had a higher pinfall total (14,294-13,660).
COLLEGE SIGNING
Triway High School senior Emma Yoder will be continuing her academic and bowling careers at Jacksonville State University in 2024.
Yoder, a three-time Stark County High School Bowling Conference first-team selection, was the 2022 OHSAA Division II girls state bowling individual champion and helped lead the Titans to the state title that season.
Jacksonville State opened its inaugural season as a women’s program last week under head coach Shannon O’Keefe and assistant Bryan O’Keefe. O’Keefe spent the previous nine seasons at McKendree University, where she led the team to four national titles before it was disbanded at the conclusion of last season.
