CHICAGO – The Missouri Baptist University men's bowling team registered its second straight Top-20 finish at a Tier 1 tournament placing 20^th overall out of 71 teams at the 2023 Kegel ISBPA Midwest Collegiate Classic. In a jam-packed field competing at the Stardust Bowl, the Spartans climbed the ranks on Day Two with a stellar performance during the 20 Baker games.
 
Sitting in 26^th place after Saturday's five traditional team games and 4,981 total pins, the Spartans jumped up six spots to finish No. 20 and ranked 16^th with their Baker total of 4,059 pins.
 
Southeastern Illinois College transfers Hunter Jones and Seth Harris brought their 'A' game on Saturday particularly Jones who was just five pins outside of a Top-25 finish. Jones, a senior out of Cape Girardeau, averaged a red-hot 231.50 through his first four games bowling 241-205-226-254-174. He landed 27^th place out 469 bowlers with a 220.00 average. Harris recorded three games above 200 with games of 221, 237 and 2221 in Games 1, 3 and 5. The Columbia, Ill. native averaged 210.80 in MBU's traditional team games good for 58^th place.
 
Grad student Dakoda Phelps finished right in the top 25% of the field, finishing 119^th overall with a 197.20 average. Phelps bowled a high of 244 to kick off Saturday's action.
 
Other notable finishes for the Spartan men included Imperial, Mo. freshman James Bennett who rolled 191, 214, 252, and 192 in four games. With a similar score in a fifth game, Bennett, who averaged 212.25, would have likely landed a spot near the Top 50.
 
Rounding out the Spartans' competitors were Cameron Peters (177-184-170), Noah Middendorf (160-157) and Bryce Thurman (144).
 
Up next for Missouri Baptist is the Tier 2 McKendree University Baker Challenge in St. Clair, Ill. on Feb. 4.