by Hannah Traczynski
RCU's bowling teams racked up wins as a team and as individuals during the 2024-2025 season, and now with four years of momentum under Head Coach Craig Woodham, the teams hope to continue finding success in the future.
A few years ago, RCU's bowling program struggled to stay competitive and experienced coaching turnover. Since Woodham took over in 2021, the team has become more competitive with a fully stacked men’s and women’s roster, complete with varsity and junior varsity teams. The women finished 6th in the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference while the men finished in 10th place.
Woodham's emphasis on family, hard work and having fun along the way has helped the teams slowly climb the ranks.
Owning the 2024-25 season
Sara Ritchie, a sophomore psychology major, placed 4th out of a pool of 87 women, and Mike Pupin, a freshman business major, placed 26th out of 100 bowlers at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
In the United States Bowling Congress circuit, the men placed 71st out of 175 teams and the women finished 46th out of 158 teams.
At the Columbia 300 Western Shootout on Oct. 12, the women’s team finished third out of 23 teams, with Ritchie leading all 183 bowlers, knocking down 1,336 pins in six games.
The Warriors also had strong performances in their first two American Heartland Bowling Association events of the season, with the women's team finishing sixth and fourth in AHBA #1 and #2 out of 21 teams. Ritchie continued to lead the Warrior varsity, placing 13th and 8th.
“Sara is just in her league right now,” Woodham said. “She’s setting the bar high, and the whole team is feeding off that energy.”
The junior varsity women also had a standout performance in AHBA #2, securing a tournament win, with Hannah Traczynski, a junior mass communication major; Shelby Opalka, a junior behavioral science major, and Sarah Temple, a sophomore early education major, earning spots on the JV women’s all-tournament team.
On the men’s side, RCU finished fifth and third out of 25 teams in the two AHBA events. Brian Henry, a junior business major, had the Warriors' best individual finish in AHBA #1, placing fifth with a score of 1,319 in six games. He earned a spot on the tournament’s all-tournament team. Tylan Kim-Arrellano, a senior sport management major, was the team’s most consistent performer with averages of 212 and 205, finishing 10th and 13th across the two competitions.
The Warriors had another dominant showing at their home event, the 2024 Warrior Classic, where both varsity and junior varsity women’s teams took home titles. Traczynski placed 1st overall in the event among varsity and JV bowlers, bowling 825 pins in four games, which included a 299 performance in her third game helping the JV girls win the Warrior Classic for the first time. Riley Brownrigg, a sophomore human resources major, averaged 200.25 and placed 3rd overall, helping the varsity women secure the Warrior Classic win for the second consecutive year.
“Winning on our home lanes felt amazing,” Temple said. “The crowd, the energy, it was just one of those moments you won’t forget.”
The men’s teams weren’t far behind. At the Bowling Green State University Falcon Classic, the varsity finished second out of 11 teams, while the junior varsity squad took first place out of four.
Individually, Kim-Arellano led the team with a sixth-place finish, followed by Henry in eighth. The Warriors bowled a total of 6,323 pins, just short of Spring Arbor’s 6,494.
At the Columbia 300 Western Shootout, the men’s team finished 16th out of 31 teams, with freshman Evan Eagle, a freshman accounting major, placing eighth out of 339 bowlers, knocking down 1,359 pins in six games.
“Evan’s the real deal,” said Men's Coach Joe Difonzo. “He’s going to be a key player for us moving forward.”
The Comeback Story
In 2021, the RCU bowling program was barely getting by, with just 14 scholarship athletes and not much of a presence in the college bowling scene.
Woodham and his staff got to work, bringing in new players, building up team chemistry, and securing spots in big tournaments.
By the 2022-23 season, the team was firmly established with 26 signed bowlers. The team was traveling to places like New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Warriors landed their first WHAC “Newcomer of the Year” award when Nataleigh Eagle, a junior nursing major, finished her freshmen year season with a 171 average.
“We had to start fresh and believe in what we were building,” Woodham said. “Now, we’re seeing that belief turn into something special.”
The next season, the Warriors kept that momentum rolling. The women’s team won their first-ever USBC-sanctioned tournament at the Warrior Classic, and the men’s junior varsity team took home their first big win. Ritchie became just the third bowler in WHAC history to win both “Bowler of the Year” and “Newcomer of the Year” in the same season.
“Sara has been unreal,” said Assistant Coach Justin Powell. “She’s got the work ethic, the drive and the skill to take this program to another level.”
What’s Next?
With the team's recent success, RCU Bowling has attracted increased interest from high school recruits, and the coaching staff has expanded.
Recent additions include alumnus Powell as the women’s junior varsity coach and former Bishop Foley High School coach Difonzo leading the varsity men’s squad.
“Our family keeps getting bigger, and that’s exactly what we want,” Woodham said. “We’ve built a culture that people want to be part of, and that’s why we keep growing.”
With a strong 2024-25 season, the Warriors are on their way to becoming one of the top programs in the WHAC.
“This team is something special,” said Charlette Schultz, a sophomore information systems and cybersecurity major. “We’ve got the talent, we’ve got the heart, and we’re ready to keep proving ourselves.”