By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
News broke last Saturday evening that Great Bend's Paige Wagner, now a freshman at Wichita State University, won the Intercollegiate Singles Championships (ISC) national bowling title. Those who could not make the drive to Las Vegas to watch the competition live had the opportunity to watch the national broadcast on CBS Sports Tuesday evening. Wagner had to battle through the dreaded 7-10 split late in the championship match to secure her title.
"I was a little bit more nervous after that, but not too nervous," she said. "I just knew I had to continue to do my best like I had previously, then just see what happens after that."
Wagner missed both pins on that split in the eighth frame, but her four strikes to open the championship helped her to a 46-pin lead en route to a 211-203 win against Maryville University's (Mo.) Anny Maxwell.
Wagner was one of 24 finalists in the championship bracket. She placed second at a sectional competition in Dallas to qualify for the national tournament. In Las Vegas, each bowler rolled six games to determine bracket seeding. Wagner emerged as the No. 8 seed with a first-round bye.
In round two of the championship bracket, Wagner rolled a 709 series to beat the No. 24 seed 709-534. That was one of just three 700 series in the bracket. Wagner advanced past the quarterfinals with a 668-603 win against the No. 16 seed from Davenport University (Mich.).
Things got a little more serious for the semifinals. CBS began filming for its later broadcast during the semifinal stage. The final group of bowlers also included reigning national champion Chloe Skurzynski, who rolled an 805 series in round two of the bracket.
"After the first five frames, there was a commercial break in between, but other than that, we didn't really have any other pauses," Wagner said. "Everything stayed the same. I just talked to my coach during that time. It was only about 15 seconds, so it wasn't too long."
Wagner, riding four-straight strikes, was even against Savannah College of Art and Design's (Ga.) No. 12 seed Lara Kurt when her first ball in the ninth frame resulted in a 2-4-10 split. Wagner converted the spare, but fouled on her final shot in the 10th frame. The error cost her nine crucial pins.
"I was nervous after that because I knew she had a chance of beating me," Wagner said. "I was just back there with my coach, and we were watching. She missed her spare, and I was very shocked about that."
Kurt needed a spare and nine pins to beat Wagner and advance to the finals. She left the seven-pin on her first ball, then threw a gutter ball while trying to hit the pin in the left corner. That sealed Wagner's 235-226 win.
The national title was a dream come true for Wagner, who won a pair of regional titles at Great Bend High School and finished as state runner-up her junior year with a 289 game that still stands as a single-game record at GBHS.
"Wichita State is the only school I ever looked at to go to. I never looked at any other school. To be able to compete with them and win a national championship for them, it's very exciting."