William Penn Collects Heart Men's Bowling Title

KEOKUK, Iowa - The William Penn men's bowling program captured the third annual Heart Men's Bowling Conference Championship title on Sunday evening. | PHOTOS

On the first day of competition consisting of 28 Baker games, the Statesmen grabbed the lead after eight games and never looked back. At each new update after game 12, 16, 20, and 28, the men's team remained on top as the overall leader. Grand View made things a little interesting, cutting the lead within 100 total pins at the 20 game mark, but the Statesmen really pulled away in the last eight games, entering championship Sunday as the top seed by over a 260 pin margin. The navy and gold finished with a total pin count of 5,557, 263 pins over second place Baker. The team's total pin count for the day was good for a 198 average per game.

William Penn earned a first round bye on Championship Sunday. The Statesmen made quick work of Culver-Stockton in the second round with a 3-0 victory. WPU faced a tough challenge from Grand View in their own semi-final match, but ultimately claimed a 3-2 victory to jettison themselves into the championship round. The Vikings defeated Culver-Stockton in the elimination brackets to set up a rematch in the final round.

The Statesmen found themselves in a hotly contested contest, but they rose to the challenge and took the seventh and deciding game to win the conference championship over the Vikings, 4-3.

William Penn earned an automatic berth to the inaugural NAIA Men's Bowling National Championship with the banner victory. The event is set to take place on March 25-27 at Five Star Lanes in Sterling Heights, Mich.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS:

1. William Penn

2. Grand View

3. Culver-Stockton

4. Clarke

5. Baker

6. Peru State