ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Over the weekend, the Missouri Baptist University men's bowling team hosted nine teams at St. Charles Lanes for the second annual Clash of the Spartans tournament. With a unique format consisting of double Baker games in match play on Day One and a single-elimination bracket on Day Two, the Spartans were right in the middle of the pack.
 
Across the 19 Baker matches, the Spartans started out slower with a 3-11 match record before ending on a five-match winning streak including wins over Hastings and Peru State, both teams that advanced to the bracket championship final. Overall, the Spartans totaled 6,961 pins for a 178.49 average, good for fifth out of nine teams. Bowling varsity for the Clash of the Spartans invitational were Seth Harris, Dakoda Phelps, Grant Smith, Hunter Jones, Dylan Bennett, and Noah Middendorf.
 
Seeded seventh for bracket play, the Spartans were eliminated in the quarterfinals by No. 2 seed Missouri Valley. The Vikings took Game One, 201-172, before a sound 230-189 win for MBU to force a tiebreaker game. In the deciding game, Missouri Valley needed just 163 to defeat the Spartans, who mustered just 137 pins.
 
Across 12 JV Baker matches, Missouri Baptist's squad consisting of Damon Howard, Cameron Peters, Daniel Manoni, Kyle Felbab, Aiden Page, and Bryce Thurman, finished 3-9 with three consecutive wins in Matches 5-7 against Ottawa, Missouri Valley and Hastings.
 
In Friday's four-game STORM Spartan Singles Clash, senior Dakoda Phelps (775) edged Central Methodist's Cole Johnson (774) by one pin for the men's individual title. Other Spartans finishing in the Top 10 of the optional singles tournament were Seth Harris in third (730), Noah Middendorf in fourth (727), Hunter Jones in sixth (707) and Grant Smith in seventh (702).
 
Following a quick Thanksgiving break, the Spartans will head to Louisville, Kentucky for the Tier 1 NAIA Invitational on Saturday, Nov. 26.