By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Collegiate bowlers do it a little differently. Not under the banner of the NCAA, the national championships are instead handed out through the Intercollegiate Singles Championships (ISC) that feature the top 24 male and female bowlers from across the country. Great Bend's Paige Wagner, now a freshman at Wichita State University, was part of that field this weekend in Las Vegas. Saturday evening, she won the national title. The championship will be nationally televised on a delayed broadcast Tuesday, April 25 on CBS Sports.
All 24 competitors bowled six games to determine seeding. Wagner bowled well enough to earn the No. 8 seed and a first-round bye in the championship bracket, which she opened with a 709-534 win against the No. 24 seed. Wagner would have faced the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals, but that bowler was defeated in her first series. Wagner capitalized, taking down the No. 16 seed 668-603.
The format changed to single games for the semifinals and championship matches. Wagner escaped the No. 12 seed in the semifinals 235-226, then defeated the No. 14 seed 211-203 for the national title.
This year's championships were held at the USBC Bowling Plaza at South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas. Wagner was a two-time regional champion and state runner-up for Great Bend. Her 289 single game at state her junior year is the single-high record at GBHS.