Fort Wayne, Ind. - For the second consecutive year, the Marian men's bowling team has ascended to the top of the Crossroads League, winning the final tournament of the CL season to claim a repeat championship. Marian's second consecutive Crossroads League regular season title gives the Knights an automatic berth into the NAIA Tournament held in March.
Entering the final tournament of the Crossroads League season tied with Spring Arbor for first place, the Knights entered knowing a win would bring home the program's third conference championship. On the day, the Knights accumulated 7309 total pinfall, blitzing past both third place Spring Arbor (6842) and second place Huntington (7033), winning in both the baker games and the team games.
In the baker competition, the Knights struck 3287 total pins, taking a sizable lead over both the Foresters and the Cougars from the session. Individually in the team games, Chad Burgess led the Marian group as he finished fourth overall, striking 841 pins in four games to average a 210.3 per game. Dylan Mollo followed his teammate in fifth place, striking 828 pins for a 207 average. Nickolas Archacki tied for 10th overall as he struck 793 pins, and Kyle Toyias finished just behind him overall with 787 pins eliminated. Alex Wiles capped the team effort with an 18th place performance, knocking down 773 pins.
Marian's team score finished with 4022 total pins, scoring 150 pins ahead of Huntington in the team games. The difference helped lift the Knights to the CL title, as Spring Arbor finished second overall in the league standings, with Huntington placing third. Marian's title is their third ever, marking the second in the newly formed Crossroads League Bowling, while joining their 2021 Mid-South Regular Season Championship.
In addition to the Crossroads League regular season championship claimed by the varsity, the JV team also came home a winner in the final tournament, defeating Spring Arbor 6803 to 5117. Seth Becker led the Knights JV individually, as he struck 814 pins to finish sixth, with teammate Dylan Anderson finishing seventh overall with an 813 score. Matthew Watson finished 15th, Joseph Buczynski finished 19th, and Connor Carr finished 30th.
The Knights will continue their season with the Hoosier Classic on February 18 and 19, with the Crossroads League Tournament to be held on March 4.
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