Buffs Men’s Bowling Punches Ticket to ITC National Championships in Las Vegas, Women place 10th at Regionals

Milligan men’s bowling became the first team in program history to qualify for the USBC ITC National Championships in Las Vegas on April 17-20, as they placed third in the ITC Regional Qualifier in Smyrna, Tenn. this weekend
Milligan men’s bowling became the first team in program history to qualify for the USBC ITC National Championships in Las Vegas on April 17-20, as they placed third in the ITC Regional Qualifier in Smyrna, Tenn. this weekend
March 9, 2025

SMYRNA, Tenn. — Milligan University's men's and women's bowling squads both competed at the Intercollegiate Team Championship Regional Qualifier in Smyrna, Tenn. on March. 7-9. The Milligan women placed 10th as a team, while the men qualified for the ITC National Championships in Las Vegas on Apr. 17-20 with a third-place showing.

On Mar. 7, the two Buffs squads had their ISC Individual Qualifier, as Milligan had Taylor Davis place 19th as an individual for the women. The top five finishers earned a spot in the ISC National Championships.

For the men, both Nate Trentler and Cameron Shockey came in sixth and seventh places, narrowly missing qualification. Trentler was five pins short of a tie for fifth. 

Each team bowled a total of 64 baker games over the course of Mar. 8-9. The MU women totaled 11,441 pins across the 64 games, while the men had a 13,221-pin sum.

The women's squad was made up of Davis, Laci MacQuisten, Emilea Sturk, Gracie Wyatt, Emilee Horton, Emily Cheesman, Emily King, and Allison Robbins. For the men, Trentler, Shockey, David Gilliam, Caleb Marshall, Alex Evans, Joshua Collins, Bryant Griffith and Blake McReynolds made up the list of bowlers on the weekend for MU.

Milligan women had an average of 178.8 pins per contest, and the men managed a 206.6-pin average to earn the number three spot.

The top four teams in the standings of each regional earned bids to the ITC National Championships in April, as the Milligan men reached that threshold for the first time in Buffaloes bowling program history.

"What an incredible experience!" exclaimed men's head coach Michael Hall. "Our guys gave their all and it showed. The collective effort of coaches and players made this happen! We aren't done yet... looking forward to seeing what we can do together in Vegas."

The next time that both teams will be in action is the NAIA National Championships on Mar. 20-22 in Sterling Heights, Mich., as both squads will be aiming to win their first ever national title.