From Uncertainty to Champions: Culver-Stockton Bowling Wins Heart Tournament

The Culver-Stockton men’s and women’s bowling teams secured major victories as they claimed the Heart of America Athletic Conference Bowling Championship. This triumph ended a 10-year championship drought for Culver-Stockton, with the last Wildcat team to win a conference title being the 2015 men’s golf team. It also marks the first conference title in the history of both bowling programs. All While under first year head coach Ryan Moore.

With this victory, both teams have earned spots in the national tournament. The last Culver-Stockton team to qualify for a national tournament was the 2020 women’s basketball team; however, that team never had the opportunity to compete due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament was a double-elimination event held at AMF Town and Country Lanes in Columbia, Missouri.

Women’s Tournament

The Culver-Stockton women’s bowling team entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed and began their run with a matchup against Baker University in a battle of the Wildcats. In their next match, they faced No. 8 seed Peru State, which had pulled off an upset against top-seeded Mount Mercy. Culver-Stockton then advanced past No. 3 seed Missouri Baptist before meeting the Columbia Cougars in the championship match, where they secured the Heart of America Conference title.

Men’s Tournament

On the men’s side, the Wildcats started as the No. 6 seed and faced a challenging path to the championship. They opened with a win over No. 3 seed Baker before taking on No. 7 seed Peru State. After defeating the Bobcats, they ran into top-seeded William Penn and dropped to the losers’ bracket. There, they faced No. 5 seed Missouri Valley and secured a victory to earn another shot at William Penn. This time, the Wildcats came out on top, forcing a decisive championship match, as it was William Penn’s first loss of the tournament. Culver-Stockton seized the opportunity, clinching their first-ever conference title.

After Tournament

With these wins, the Wildcats have earned an automatic bid to the fifth annual NAIA Bowling National Championships. The tournament will be held March 20-22 at Five Star Lanes in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Coach Ryan Moore

At this time we’re waiting to hear back from Coach Moore. He has been out recruiting. So keep an eye out for what Coach Moore had to say about the win and the preparations for the season.

Culver-Stockton Athletic Director: Pat Atwell

Culver-Stockton Athletic Director Pat Atwell is excited about ending the long championship drought and looks forward to the future of the program. “That was a pretty long drought. The first two years here, the men’s golf team under Coach Tim Schrage won back-to-back championships. We haven’t had another one since,” Atwell remarked. Pat Atwell has been the Athletic Director at Culver-Stockton College since 2014.

Atwell also shared his surprise at the victories. “I knew they would compete, but I’ve got to be honest, to get both conference championships—I was so happy and pleasantly surprised. We knew we had the capabilities, but to get hot and do it that day was incredible.”

The bowling program’s success was particularly special for Atwell, as he wasn’t sure they would even have a team this season. “In July, Coach Derek Sapp stepped down from the program, and our student-athletes, who are very close to the coach, didn’t know what to do.”

Fortunately, Coach Ryan Moore stepped in. “Moore, who worked with Derek at Arrowhead Lanes in Keokuk and had much success at Keokuk High School, was interested. I had talked to him about the position several years ago, and he was interested in taking it on,” Atwell explained.

Pat also praised the quick action taken to keep the program intact. “We had to move pretty quick. You know, I’ll give the school a lot of credit. President Schellenberger and CFO Julie Strauss were key in green-lighting a very fast hire. They had Ryan take over, keep the kids here, and bring in a couple of new players. The transition was pretty seamless.”

When asked about the future of the program, especially with Ryan Moore at the helm, Atwell expressed his excitement. “It was one of the great selling points when I was talking to President Schellenberger and Strauss. We said that he knows everybody, and Keokuk’s not far. Under his tutelage, he’s built a great bowling program. He’s very successful. He’s a winner, and winning breeds winning.”