Bowling Programs Compete in Historic Crossroads League Openers
MARION/BLUFFTON, Ind. - The Huntington bowling programs opened Crossroads League play earlier this month with a pair of one-day conference tournaments in Marion and Bluffton, Indiana, competing in the first two of four league events this season.
Each Crossroads League tournament features three traditional team games followed by 12 Baker games, and Huntington experienced a mixed set of results across the two days while competing in a historic setting.
"It was a historic weekend for collegiate bowling," said head coach Mike Shockey. "The Crossroads League was the first conference to host a sanctioned collegiate tournament using the new string pin bowling machines. While the pinsetters are a bit controversial compared to free-fall machines, our players did a great job understanding that everyone was competing on the same oil pattern and the same equipment."
Men's Results
The men opened the weekend Friday at Crest Lanes in Marion, where both the varsity and junior varsity squads finished fourth in their respective fields. The varsity team totaled 4,711 pins, while the JV group rolled a 4,396 series against fields of eight varsity teams and ten JV teams.
Individually, Drew Radosevich led the way for Huntington, averaging 200.7 pins per game and finishing third overall among 104 competitors.
Saturday's action shifted to EZ Bowl in Bluffton, where the men showed improvement but saw similar results in the standings. The varsity squad again placed fourth after climbing as high as second late in the day, while the JV men posted a strong third-place finish. The highlight of the day came from Michael Lichtenberg, who claimed the individual title with an impressive 239.7 per-game average. Earl Garner also had a standout performance for the JV squad, earning a third-place individual finish with a 205.7 average.
Women's Results
The women faced a challenging day Friday at Crest Lanes, with the varsity team finishing fourth out of eight teams and the JV squad placing seventh. The varsity totaled 4,139 pins, while the JV rolled a 3,332 series.
Emma Large paced the varsity women with a fifth-place individual finish out of 87 bowlers, averaging 179 pins per game. Danielle McLaughlin led the JV group individually with a 174 average.
Saturday at EZ Bowl proved to be a turning point. The varsity women bounced back with a strong second-place finish, posting a tournament score of 4,656. The JV women totaled 3,501 pins and again finished seventh, gaining valuable experience against league competition. Aurora Yantz highlighted the day for the Foresters, finishing third individually with a 192.7 per-game average and earning All-Tournament recognition.
HU returns to competition in the new year at the Kegel/ISBPA Midwest Collegiate Classic, scheduled for January 17–18.
The Huntington University Foresters compete in 18 intercollegiate sports for men and women. In the past decade, Huntington has produced 181 NAIA All-America honors and 631 All-America Scholar Athlete honors. Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. Huntington has a top quartile ranking in the 2026 U.S. News Best Regional Universities Midwest Rankings.