A sweep of the top spots by the University of Olivet helped get the 2026-2027 United States Bowling Congress Collegiate season underway over the weekend in Goshen, Ind., at the Maple City Classic.
Contested at Maple City Bowl, the event featured seven varsity squads in both the men’s and women’s divisions. Competition consisted of three traditional games and 12 Baker games.
In the men’s division, Olivet sat in fifth place after the traditional block and trailed Greenville University by more than 140 pins. The Comets started chipping away at the difference during the Baker set, highlighted by scores of 252 in Game 5 and 247 in Game 10.
The big number in Game 10 allowed Olivet to move ahead of Spoon River College for the lead, and the Comets maintained the top spot by 15 pins to record the victory with a 4,788 total.
Spoon River finished as the runner-up with 4,773, while Goshen College took third with 4,630.
For the men’s individual standings, Goshen’s Brendan Riley posted the top three-game total with 592. He finished just ahead of Spoon River’s Zayne Shockency (590), Nickolas Ransbottom of Grace College (587) and Olivet’s Ryen Grigg (580). Cole Greathouse of Lindsey Wilson University and Grace’s Zachary Camp finished tied for fifth with 564.
A strong performance in the Baker set also highlighted the road to victory for Olivet in the women’s division. While the Comets were just 23 pins behind Calumet College of St. Joseph after three traditional games, they outpaced the field by 95 pins in the Baker block to claim the win with a 4,564 total.
Calumet finished in second with 4,492, while Lindsey Wilson and Grace tied for third with 4,126.
Lindsey Wilson’s Jordynn Sprague posted the top individual performance in the women’s field, rolling to a 565 total. A pair of student-athletes from Goshen – Rebekah Muzyk and Kaidance Gates – were next in the standings with 553 and 552, respectively. Charlize Shelton of Brescia University finished fourth with 545, and Calumet’s Samantha Smolen recorded the final spot in the top five with 527.
The Olivet men and women also won the titles at the Maple City Classic in 2025.
Three events are on the schedule for next weekend, taking place across the Midwest. The DO Apparel/Brunswick Open will be contested in Columbus, Ohio, while teams will battle for the top spot at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Jackson Open in Jackson, Mich. The Hammer Golden Eagle Invite will be held across two centers – men’s competition will take place in Rockford, Ill., while the women’s field will bowl in Loves Park, Illinois.
MUSKINGUM WINS CBAA EVENT
History was made at the 2026 Crown Classic Invitational presented by Brunswick at Holiday Lanes in Oklahoma City as the College Bowling Athletic Association’s showcase the CBAA three-period competition format — Singles, Doubles and Baker Match Play. History was made. The unique event format featured five college bowling programs competing for the first Crown Classic Invitational Titles.
Instead of determining a winner strictly by total pinfall, teams competed head-to-head for points. Southern Nazarene, Oklahoma Christian, Dallas Baptist and Muskingum University competed in the Men’s Division and McPherson College faced Southern Nazarene in the Women’s Division.
In singles and doubles, coaches selected four players or teams to compete in round-robin match play, with four points awarded for each victory. The highest-scoring competitors advanced to a Showcase Match worth eight points. Then came Baker match play, where every game could change the direction of the match.
The Lady Bulldogs of McPherson wasted little time showing they were ready to compete.
SNU and McPherson battled to a 32–32 tie through Singles round-robin play, setting the stage for a Showcase Match between SNU freshman Chryslin Sakata and McPherson’s Kayla Wood. Sakata was perfect in round-robin competition, going 4–0 to earn her spot in the Showcase. Wood finished 3–1.
With eight points on the line, Wood delivered a 212–174 victory, giving McPherson a 40–32 advantage after Period 1.
SNU answered in doubles. Callie Vargas and Sakata teamed for a 3–1 record and advanced to the Doubles Showcase against McPherson’s Kaycee Carter and Joysbeliz Reyes.
Vargas and Sakata had already defeated the McPherson duo 392–379 during round-robin competition, but Carter and Reyes responded, winning the Showcase 398–380.
McPherson controlled Period 2 by a 50–22 margin and carried a 90–54 lead into Baker Match Play.
The Bulldogs then went 6–4 against SNU in Period 3, winning the final period 36–24 and securing a 126–78 victory.
Vargas led the Crimson Storm with a 198.9 average over nine games, while Sakata averaged 189.7 over nine.
The men’s competition opened Saturday morning with 15 Baker games used to determine seeding.
When qualifying was complete, the Crimson Storm stood at the top. SNU earned the No. 1 seed, followed by No. 2 Muskingum, No. 3 Oklahoma Christian and No. 4 Dallas Baptist.
That set up an opening-round showdown between SNU and DBU. And the Crimson Storm came out firing.
SNU took control immediately in Period 1 singles, winning 12 of 16 matches with one tie. The result was a commanding 58–14 advantage. Riley Speer capped the period by defeating DBU’s Noah Raleigh-Turner 216–176 in the Singles Showcase.
The momentum carried directly into Doubles. SNU went 10–6 in Doubles matches and won Period 2 by a 48–24 margin. Brandon Handog and Speer were perfect in round-robin competition at 4–0 before delivering another statement in the Showcase Match. Handog and Speer defeated Garrett Smith and Raleigh-Turner 450–351. After two periods, the outcome was already decided. Dallas Baptist had been mathematically eliminated, sending SNU directly into the Crown Classic championship.
On the other side of the bracket, Muskingum grabbed a 44–28 advantage over Oklahoma Christian after Period 1 Singles.
The Muskies went 9–7 in round-robin play and captured the Singles Showcase 225–209 behind Jacob Moravick’s victory over OC senior Landon Connell.
Oklahoma Christian fought back in Doubles, splitting Period 2 at 36–36 and keeping the Eagles within striking distance.
One of the weekend’s biggest scoring performances came from Muskingum’s Jacob Willard and Andrew Schaefer. Despite not winning a round-robin match, the duo fired a four-game total of 1,680 — a 420 average — to earn a spot in the Doubles Showcase. There, they delivered. Willard and Schaefer defeated Connell and Sage Rush 494–471 to grab the eight Showcase points.
Muskingum entered Baker Match Play with an 80–64 advantage. OC won the opening Baker game 238–177. Then Muskingum caught fire. The Muskies won the next four matches, including a perfect 300 in Game 3. By the end of Game 5, Oklahoma Christian had been mathematically eliminated.
The championship started exactly as expected — tight. After Period 1 sSingles, SNU and Muskingum were deadlocked at 36–36. SNU sophomore Jayden Kadooka went 3–1 in round-robin competition, while Muskingum’s Talon Newton also finished 3–1. Brandon Handog earned SNU’s spot in the Showcase after averaging 218.75 during his four Singles games. But Newton took the Showcase, defeating Handog 183–158.
Muskingum made its move in Doubles. The Muskies went 11–5 in round-robin competition and won Period 2 by a 44–28 margin. SNU refused to go quietly. Handog and Speer captured the Doubles Showcase for the Crimson Storm, keeping SNU within striking distance heading into the final period. Muskingum led 80–64.
Ten Baker games remained. SNU struck first. The Crimson Storm opened Baker Match Play with a 255–238 victory, cutting into the Muskies’ advantage and putting pressure squarely on Muskingum. But the Muskies responded. Muskingum rolled games of 225, 217, 223 and 222 over the next four matches. A 222–191 victory in Game 5
mathematically eliminated SNU and secured the inaugural Crown Classic Invitational championship.
USBC HALL OF FAMER DIES
The United States Bowling Congress recently learned of the death of USBC Hall of Famer Gordy Baer at the age of 86. He passed away July 8.
Baer was inducted to the Superior Performance category in 1987 thanks to his continued success at the USBC Open Championships, which included three team victories.
Born in Harvey, Ill., the talented right-hander made his debut at the national tournament in 1959 and recorded his first of eight top fives at the event in 1966. Baer paired with Raymond Johnson in Rochester, N.Y., to finish second in Regular Doubles.
He claimed his first Eagle at the Open Championships in 1973 as part of Chicago’s Skyway Lanes. The group – featuring Baer, USBC Hall of Famer Alfie Cohn, Dave Norton, Bill Slateritz and Joe Trombetta – won Team All-Events in Syracuse, New York, with a 45-game total of 9,316. Baer contributed 1,771 to the winning tally and also finished the year in fourth place for Regular Team and Regular Doubles with Cohn.
Baer saved his best performance at the tournament for his appearance in Tampa, Fla., during the 1979 event. He rolled to a 2,092 total to lead Hal Lieber Trophies of Gary, Ind., to titles in Regular Team (3,202) and Team All-Events (9,553). His teammates in 1979 included Richard Bliss, Andy Chismudy, Bill Lieber and Bob Wilson.
His nine-game score nearly secured a third win for the tournament, as Baer finished as the runner-up in Regular All-Events.
Baer’s showing in Tampa helped him earn the honor of being named the 1979 Amateur Bowler of the Year by Bowlers Journal International.
He returned to the top 10 in all-events the following year during the tournament’s trip to Louisville, Ky,, posting 2,005 to place sixth. He also finished the 1980 event in fourth place in Regular Doubles with Jim Fowble and 10th in Regular Team with Hal Lieber Trophies.
The effort in 1980 also helped Baer become just the second competitor to record back-to-back scores of 2,000 or more at the Open Championships.
After his performance at the 1986 event in Las Vegas (1,998 total for all-events), Baer became the first non-professional to place his name at the top of the tournament’s 10-year average list in nearly 30 years. He averaged more than 210 at the Open Championships from 1977-1986.
Baer made his final appearance at the Open Championships in 2018. In returning to Syracuse – the home of his first victory at the event – for his 56th appearance, Baer surpassed 100,000 pins to become the 21st member of the elite club.
He finished his career at the Open Championships with 100,991 pins for a lifetime average of 200.3 over 504 games.
In addition to his success at the national level, Baer was a force in local and state competitions and also earned induction to the Illinois State USBC, Indiana State USBC, Chicagoland USBC and Greater Calumet Area USBC Halls of Fame.