CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Facing off against a large, stacked field of competition, Avila men’s bowling put together one of its best weekends in program history, finishing in fifth place and just narrowly missing the elimination cutoff at the Kohawk Invitational in Cedar Rapids this weekend. The Avila women placed 14th in their field.
Fresh off a bit of home heartbreak last weekend at the Eagle Invitational, the Eagle men embarked on one of their biggest trips of the season up to Iowa and turned in a brilliant performance. The Kohawk Invite featured 19 high-quality teams, and only the top four qualified for Sunday’s elimination bracket, an uncharacteristically exclusive club for one of these weekend tournaments.
Even still, the Eagles were full in contention for that cut until the bitter end. Avila was in pole position on Saturday, placing fourth after the first day of competition, and ultimately finished in fifth with a total pinfall of 7823 – just a few dozen pins behind fourth-place Baker for that final playoff spot.
It was still a brilliant overall showing for a second-year program. After a team-best performance on the JV squad at the Eagle Invitational last week, Bryce Stewart got the varsity call-up and once again led the pack. Stewart had games of 253 and 246 and finished with a five-game average of 201.2, a Top 25 mark in the entire field. Nick Hays and Brody Stanback also placed in the Top 50 of a field of close to 125 eligible bowlers.
Coming off their brilliant team performance at Aaron’s last weekend, the Eagle women were a little shorthanded this time around and struggled to replicate the second-day success that helped them win the tournament title last time out. This time, the Eagles finished 14th out of 17 teams on both days of the event.
Devyn Coleman started her weekend with a 211 and led the team with a 184.4 clip, a Top 35 mark in the field. Joanne Alibayan was next with a 170.2 clip, and Tori Bestor stepped into a featured role and produced her best weekend as an Eagle with an average of 151.4.
Avila bowling will be right back on the lanes this coming weekend, albeit a little bit closer to home, when the Eagles head over to Lawrence, Kansas for the Wildcat Challenge on Saturday, February 11 and Sunday, February 12. For details on how to watch and follow along, stay tuned to avilaathletics.com.
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