While not exactly the results they were looking for, the SSU bowling teams both started the season last weekend with some success. The first Ohio Bowling Conference (OBC) tournament took place Saturday, Oct. 5, and featured 17 teams in the men’s varsity division, 13 in the men’s junior varsity division, 16 in the women’s varsity division and six in the women’s junior varsity division. Among these teams were Ohio State University, Muskingum University and conference rivals the University of Rio Grande.
On the men’s side, the varsity team finished seventh out of 17, while the junior varsity finished sixth out of 13. The goal is always to finish in the top five; however, both teams placed in the top half of their respective divisions. Sam Clay finished 14th out of 201 bowlers across the varsity and junior varsity rosters with an 824 total pinfall series over four games. Clay’s high game was a 249, joined by Andy Schoener’s 238 and Zach Ison’s 237 for a total of three games over 230 for the men’s teams.
For the women’s teams, the varsity finished seventh out of 16, while the junior varsity was unable to travel to this tournament. The women’s team had three bowlers—Hannah Rearick, Olyvia Bittner and Morgan Higgins—finish in the top 20 out of 146 bowlers. Rearick bowled a 697 series, Bittner a 678 and Higgins a 674.
Overall, the weekend was a good showing for the bowling Bears; however, there are still opportunities for growth throughout the season.
“For our first event of the year, we saw some good things and a few areas we need to continue to work on,” head coach Bryan Sturgill said. “We fought tough lane transitions all day, but overall, I saw some great things from all of them and am excited for the rest of the season. Now we just have to get back to work and put it all together from game one until the final ball is thrown.”
The bowling Bears are back in action at the Columbus Square Bowling Palace for OBC II on Saturday, Oct. 19, and look to regroup for another strong showing.
