The SNU men’s bowling team hosted the inaugural Crosstown Clash, an atypical bowling tournament featuring Oklahoma Christian. The event was divided into three sections: singles, doubles, and baker. Although OC took home the Crosstown Cup, SNU kept the competition tight and showcased its strengths in the baker games. It was a great way to kick off the season for the young team, giving all the freshmen valuable collegiate bowling experience.
The team had been preparing for the event since the beginning of the school year, practicing on the tournament pattern in the weeks leading up to the competition at Holiday Lanes. SNU Athletic Director Danny Thomason opened the event with a prayer and highlighted the friendly rivalry between SNU and OC, expressing excitement to see it continue through bowling. The competition itself was structured so that the winner would be determined by the total points accumulated across the three sections of play.
The first section featured four single games with Brandon Handog, Riley Speer, Jayden Kadooka and Myless Etherington representing SNU. Each player bowled 40 frames, and those numbers were combined to contribute to SNU’s total. As the team’s top performer, Handog then faced off against OC’s highest-scoring bowler for a chance to earn additional points.
Next were the doubles games, where SNU’s returning bowlers were paired with freshmen to bowl two individual games, which were then averaged for a team score. SNU’s top duo, Handog and Speer, advanced to face OC’s highest-scoring pair for a chance at 30 extra points. Although the Storm came up short, the match was tightly contested.
After a short break, the teams returned to the lanes for 10 baker games, where a rotating team of five players bowled one game together. This is where SNU really began to showcase its skills. Each filled frame brought momentum, motivating the next bowler to build on their teammate’s success. In this section, the team’s encouragement of each other increased with more cheering and high-fives going around after each frame. Highlights included Speer getting a turkey (three strikes in a row) in the 10th frame of the second game and Kadooka picking up an impressive 4-7-10 split, drawing shocked reactions and roaring applause from both the team and the crowd.
This historic and unique competition concluded with OC claiming the Crosstown Cup. Both teams hope to make the Clash a spring event in addition to its role as the annual kickoff to the fall bowling season. According to sophomore bowler Landon McConnell, “The setup of the Crosstown Clash was so much better [than typical college tournaments] and allowed for all players of each team to get experience and bowl. Although we lost, we were having fun, and that is something that seems to be lost a lot in most college sports.” Above all, McConnell expressed pride in how his team competed and never gave up throughout the day.
SNU bowling and Coach Mark Jeffries also extended their gratitude to Holiday Lanes and owner Kim Denny for hosting the event and for their continued support of the program.
Photo by: Trynitie Krout