The 2025-2026 United States Bowling Congress Collegiate season continued this past weekend in Illinois at the Hammer Golden Eagle Invite, contested across two centers in Rockford (men) and Loves Park (women).
Twenty-eight men’s varsity teams and 15 women’s varsity teams bowled five individual games and 16 Baker games before a cut to the top eight men’s teams and top four women’s teams for bracket match play.
On the men’s side, top-seeded St. Ambrose did not lose a game on the way to a dominant win, defeating No. 8 Roosevelt (2-0), No. 4 Calumet (2-0) and No. 3 Rock Valley in the best-of-five championship match (3-0).
In the individual block, Saint Xavier’s Bobby Habetler led all men with a five-game total of 1,217, good for a 243 average. Teammate Daniel Esguerra placed second with 1,140. Rock Valley’s Solomon Johnson (1,128) and Charlie Hunt (1,119) finished third and fourth, while St. Ambrose’s Kendric Siders rounded out the top five with 1,112.
On the women’s side, St. Ambrose once again came out on top, qualifying as the No. 3 seed and defeating No. 2 Calumet (2-0) before a 3-1 victory over No. 1 Judson for a Fighting Bees weekend sweep.
Judson’s Paige Carpenter led all women in the individual block with 1,046, and teammate Madison Davenport joined the top five with 985, good for third overall. Hawkeye CC’s Kylee Kirchner was second at 1,013, Wartburg’s Lauren Funk was fourth at 977, and Clarke’s Mia Losee placed fifth with 949.
In other collegiate action:
* The Indiana Tech men and Spring Arbor women collected wins at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Jackson Open in Jackson, Mich. The Tech men’s team came in with a team score of 6,706, outpacing second place by 265 pins. Leading the way for Tech was Nolan Blessing, who finished third overall, with 683 series. Right behind him was Jayden Combs, finishing fourth overall with 679. Tuna Boncu placed in the top 10, finishing ninth overall, posting a score of 656. Tuslaw High School graduate Cameron Kilgore bowled on game in the event..
Next weekend features six events, including the season’s first Tier I event — the Midwest Collegiate Championships in the Detroit area.