Eagles Advance To Nationals For First Time Ever
Addison, IL - This past weekend our Judson Eagles competing at the USBC Intercollegiate and Team Championships in Addison, IL. They started with the singles portion on Friday morning with the men's squad.
On the Ladies singles side Senior Chloe Siezega continued her fantastic season with a 14th place finish out of 215 of the best female bowlers in the country. She had games of 258, 196, 179, 244, 176, and 206 for a 210 average.
Other competitors were Senior Brandy Stewart had a high game of 245, Senior Michele Chancey had a high game of 255, Senior Karlea Ceasario had a high game of 214, Junior Paige Carpenter with a high game of 220, Freshman Izabel Krajecki with a high game of 200, Freshman Payten Kusilek with a high game of 234, Senior Isabel Cooley with a high game of 205, Senior Kaylee Mann with a high game of 199, Freshman Alexis Vande Kolk with a high game of 197, and Sophomore Katelyn Kiefer with a high game of 194.
On the Team side of things, the Lady Eagles continued their history making season placing 3rd and advancing to the Intercollegiate National Championships for the 1st time in program history.
The Ladies will be heading to Las Vegas in April and compete at the historic Southpoint Bowling Plaza with the goal of bringing home a National Championship. The team was in 6th place after the first 16 game block and had high games of 235, 248, and 221 and at that point was 78 pins from the advancing cutline of 4th place. Heading into the afternoon 16 game block the team went from 6th to 4th by 8 pins over Monmouth University. The team had a hot streak of games which included 221, 223, 192, 244, 243, 218, 236, 243, 205, 212, 193, and 205! The team led the entire tournament for the back 16 games on Saturday with a 3315 total and a 207.5 average for the block. Heading into day 2 the game plan was to just make some slight adjustments and have a better morning block and we were able to do just that. The scores were low to start the day by all of the teams but our team was able to grind through and finish with games of 195, 199, 246, 256 and an 896 4 game set which took us up to 3rd and a 204 pin cushion over the 4th place cut line.
Heading into the final 16 games of baker with a 204-pin lead we needed to continue to keep our foot on the gas and the ladies did just that extended their lead. With games of 191, 221, 192, 197, 201, 218, 217, 211, 209, 196, 224, 204, 210, 188 and 214 to finish 2nd in the block and 3rd overall and a 400 pin lead over 5th place! The resiliency of this team has been incredible all season and the care that each of these ladies have for each other is beyond special. In one of the most grueling events in all of Bowling the emotions started to flow through as the 64-game event was completed and we had punched our ticket to Nationals! Every player on this team put great numbers but more importantly every player on this team committed to the values and vision of what a team is about that do not show up on the stat sheet! Junior Paige Carpenter led the team in strike percentage at 57% as well as 91% on single pins and 73% on multipins.
Freshman Standout Payten Kusilek was solid day 1 but absolutely on fire day 2! Payten struck 55% of the time and was outstanding multipin percentage of 75% and single pin percentage of 82%!
Senior Michele Chancey struck 54% of the time and came off the bench in the big run the team had in the 2nd block of day 1. Senior Karlea Ceasario who came onto the team this spring has been beyond solid. With a strike percentage of 48%, single pin percentage of 87%, and multipin percentage of 75% she has been the final piece to the puzzle of our team. Kudos to Karlea for the friendships and chemistry she has built with the ladies in such a short time and to all the ladies for immediately accepting Karlea onto the team as if she had been with us for all 4 years! Senior Brandy Stewart has had a fantastic season across the board improving in basically every statistical category from her prior 3 seasons. Brandy was 83% on single pins, an amazing 87% on multi-pins and struck 40% of the time.
Senior Kaylee Mann came off the bench to close out on Sunday and was outstanding and was 82% on single pins, 80% on multipins, and struck 41% of the time and an overall fill percentage of 88%! Senior Isabell Cooley also contributed on so many levels. Isabell's leadership, selflessness, and maturity has been priceless for the team and doesn't show up on the stat sheet! Isabell made some really good shots and was able to come in and strike 35% of the time.
Last but not least Senior Chloe Siezega has had a magical season in which she anchored our ladies' team the entire season. Chloe again put up amazing numbers of 88% on single pins, 88% on multipins, and struck 45% of the time on the weekend! Chloe was able to finish strong in so many games to get those struggle games up to manageable and keep the confidence of the entire team at a high level!
Special shout out the following starters/reserves – Brandy Stewart, Michele Chancey, Kaylee Mann, Isabell Cooley, and Payten Kusilek as they have the toughest jobs on the team as they must be prepared to be pulled in and out of the lineup at anytime! They all perform amazingly when called upon but more importantly only care about team success and they are a HUGE factor in why we are headed to VEGAS! #GratefulHumbleDisciplineandConsistent!
Our Judson Eagles Bowling Family also want to honor and recognize our Senior Players as they made their final appearances as Eagles! On the lady's side Marisa Garcia who had many great performances throughout her Bowling Career at Judson. Unfortunately for Marisa she got an eye disease that has caused her to go partially blind so she was unable to compete the 2nd half of the season. We wish Marisa and her family the very best moving forward and send many prayers and well wishes and that GOD will heal her. For the Men Sebastian Beth, James Kontos, Matthew Sipes, Anthony Gutierrez, Jason Claus, and Cameron Jablonski. The impact that each of you made to the program will not be forgotten. Thank you for your hard work and dedication and because of your contributions you are leaving the program in a better place than when you all arrived. You each have meant so much to us and we wish you all the best moving forward. We are all humbled and blessed to have been a part of your College Journey and you will always be a part of our Judson Bowling Family. Once an Eagle always an Eagle!