Coleman Claims Top Spot at Wildcat Challenge

LAWRENCE, Kan. – In what’s already been a record-setting sophomore season, Devyn Coleman made even more Avila history this weekend at the Wildcat Challenge in Lawrence – not only did she make the All-Tournament team with one of the five best averages in her field for the second time this season, she finished with the best tournament average in the field, becoming the first Avila bowler to be named an individual champion.

Coleman cracked 200 three times over the five games, including a very strong score of 235 in game two, and finished with a total pinfall of 1,007, an average of 201.4. The race for first – and, really, for all five spots on the All-Tournament team, came down to the last few frames. Head coach Paul Wolf knows a thing or two about tracking scores, and was monitoring the rest of the contenders while encouraging Coleman to just take care of her business and not pay attention to anything else.

Wolf says he knew that by the time the team got to about the seventh frame of the final game that Coleman was in pole position to cross the finish line in first.

“I knew that if she could just mark the final few frames and take care of it, then she would have it,” Wolf said.

And that’s exactly what she did. Coleman outlasted Caitlin Lucas and Kinsey Miller, both of hosts Baker, by three total pins and five total pins, respectively, to finish in the top spot for the first time in program history. Claire Busch and Joanne Alibayan also finished in the Top 25 overall, helping the Eagles finish sixth in the Wildcat Challenge field.

It was already a historic Sunday for Avila bowling, but it nearly became even more momentous because the Eagle men very nearly placed a bowler on the All-Tournament team for the first time in program history as well. In fact, three Eagles had a shot at the top five and maybe even the top spot, but ultimately came up just a few pins short over the course of the day.

Bryce Stewart continued his tremendous run of form on the JV squad, clearing 240 twice and finishing with an average of 204.6 – literally three pins out of fifth place in the field. Aidan Tesdall was not far behind – he shot a brilliant 278, the highest score of any bowler in the top half of the field, in game four but couldn’t replicate that in game five, and finished with an average of 203.6, just eight pins out of fifth.

Stewart and Tesdall finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the men’s field, still two excellent results for a young team. Brody…