BOWLING

The Huntington bowling teams delivered a memorable weekend at Purdue University’s Boilermaker Classic, highlighted by a traditional team championship for the Forester women and a three-pin heartbreaker in Sunday’s Baker competition.

The two-day event featured five traditional team games on Saturday followed by 25 Baker games on Sunday. While the men battled through an inconsistent weekend, the women enjoyed one of their strongest performances in recent memory, capturing their first tournament title since February 2024, when they claimed first place at the fourth Crossroads League Tournament.

“We haven’t bowled this tournament in quite a few years,” said head coach Mike Shockey. “The bowling center is really hard no matter what oil pattern is applied. We felt like we have the players that matched up well, so we decided to add the Boilermaker back into the schedule.”

The Forester women made that decision look like a good one Saturday, topping the field of 10 varsity teams with a score of 4,368. Aurora Yantz paced Huntington individually, finishing seventh among 74 competitors with a five-game average of 181.

Sunday brought even more excitement as the women battled for another tournament title in the Baker format. Huntington finished with a 4,376 total across 25 games, narrowly missing out on first place to a top-10 Trine squad by just three pins. The Foresters finished second among seven varsity teams, capping a weekend that showcased their growing potential.

“I am really proud of the entire team, men and women, for how hard they are working, but more importantly the desire they have to be a team first,” said Shockey. “The win marks the first non-conference win for HU in quite a few years. Hopefully, this is just the beginning for this team.”

The men’s team opened Saturday with an eighth-place finish among 17 varsity teams, totaling 4,628 pins. Leland Jones led the way individually, rolling a 983 series for a 197 average across five games. Jones finished 29th out of 150 bowlers.

Huntington struggled to find consistency Sunday on a different oil pattern, finishing 10th among 15 varsity teams with a 4,638 total across 25 Baker games.

“The story of the weekend for the guys was a lack of spare shooting consistency,” Shockey said. “Overall, we can strike really well, and we can go on streaks of elite spare shooting. Now it is just a matter of putting both things together.”

The Foresters now have a lengthy break before returning to competition Dec. 4-5 for the Crossroads League Tournament, with the first tournament Friday and the second Saturday. Both events will be held in Fort Wayne.