Collegiate Ticker - Oct. 2, 2019

The second weekend of the 2019-2020 United States Bowling Congress Collegiate season saw the Midland men and Kansas Wesleyan women earn their first wins of the season at the Midland Warrior Open at The Mark in Elkhorn, Nebraska.

The event featured 12 men’s and 12 women’s varsity programs and a qualifying format which included six traditional games on Saturday followed by 16 Baker games on Sunday. The top eight teams after Sunday’s Baker competition advanced to the best-of-three bracket match-play to determine the champion.

The Midland men held the lead after the first day of competition with a 6,006 total on the strength of a 1,121 effort in Game 3. The game was highlighted by freshman Jalen Mosley, who rolled the tournament’s only 300 game in just his third career game of collegiate competition. Iowa Central CC closed the gap during Baker on Sunday after rolling the highest 16-game Baker set (3,167) to cut the deficit to 57 pins heading into the match-play bracket.

In the best-of-three match-play bracket, the top-seeded Warriors earned a spot in the title match by defeating No. 8 Nebraska-Lincoln and No. 5 Baker to set up a title match with No. 7 Barton CC. Barton CC bested No. 2 Iowa Central CC in the first round and No. 3 Hastings in Round 2, but fell to the Warriors in the finals as Midland claimed the championship.

Kansas Wesleyan’s Austin Musselman started from the bottom to earn the top individual honor on the men’s side. Musselman tossed a 99 in Game 1, but rebounded with games of 233, 289, 250, 270 and 185 for a six-game score of 1,326, a 221 average. Other student-athletes in the top five of the men’s division were Central Missouri’s Connor Kottke (1,319), Baker’s Kyle Lovell (1,291), Mosley (1,289) and Baker’s Tyler Gromlovits (1,274).

In the women’s division, Midland never trailed during the six traditional games and held a 155-pin lead over Kansas Wesleyan after Day 1.

During Baker competition, Midland continued to apply pressure and increased their lead to earn the top seed heading into the match-play bracket. Kansas Wesleyan earned the No. 2 seed, while Baker grabbed the No. 3 seed after posting the highest Baker total in the women’s division.

But, bracket play presented some challenges for Midland as they were upset in the first round by No. 8 Iowa Central CC. No. 5 Hastings swept No. 4 Columbia before defeating Iowa Central CC, 2-1, to earn a spot in the finals. No. 2 Kansas Wesleyan defeated No. 7 Iowa Western CC and No. 6 College of Saint Mary, 2-1, to reach the title match.

The finals only took two games as Kansas Wesleyan swept Hastings to claim the title.

Individually, Kansas Wesleyan’s Carolina Snowden took home the individual crown with games of 180, 222, 227, 173, 212 and 188 for a six-game score of 1,202, a 200.33 average. Rounding out the top-five were Midland’s Chloe Herman (1,193), Baker’s Megan Carpenter (1,181), Midland’s Nicole Gattenby (1,167) and Kansas Wesleyan’s Sara Taylor (1,166).

In other USBC Collegiate action last weekend:

- At the SHU Halo Invitational in Adrian, Michigan, the Spring Arbor women and the Bowling Green men captured victories.

- At the SCAD Collegiate Shootout 1&2 in Savannah, Georgia, the Webber men captured both titles, while the Webber women and SCAD women earned victories.

- At the Cardinal Classic in Muncie, Indiana, the Wright State men and women were victorious.

- At the Great Lakes Bowling Conference 1 in Bloomington, Minnesota, the Rock Valley women and Wisconsin-Whitewater men captured the top spots.

For complete results and the full schedule for the 2019-2020 season, click here .