The success of Pennsylvania College of Technology bowlers on the state level continued over the weekend at the Pennsylvania Collegiate Athletic Association championships at Pleasant Valley Lanes in Altoona.
Brandon Hendricks, a senior from Northumberland, finished first in men's singles and all events, helped the Wildcats to a first-place finish in men's team competition and to the overall men's championship that combined results from singles, doubles, team and Baker events.
"Things went very well. Our bowlers came out well-prepared. After singles and doubles on Saturday, we were in the lead by about 50 to 80 pins over Northampton and it stayed that way we never lost the lead," said Debbie Vincenzes, the college's first-year coach. "I was really impressed. They did really well and put their best effort forward."
In the men's overall, where 10 teams competed, Penn College scored 11,563, followed by Northampton Community College at 11,434, Community College of Allegheny County South 11,407, Community College of Allegheny County Boyce 11,342 and Lehigh Carbon Community College 10,862. In addition to Hendricks, other Wildcats on the team were Andrew Hurst (York), Ryan Forry (Lancaster), David Florist (Horsham), David Pierce (Warren) and Mike Pollock (Sugarloaf).
Hendricks posted a 684 series on games of 217-231-236 en route to the men's singles title and he scored a 2,112 in men's all events, with a 684 in singles, 701 in doubles and 727 in team events.
"He is a gentleman at all times and very gracious," Vincenzes said of the team's only left-hander bowler. "He always comes through for the team when we need it. Always," she emphasized.
Penn College finished first in men's team event with a 3,208, followed by CCAC Boyce 3,111, Northampton 3,107 and CCAC South 3,106.
In men's doubles competition, Hendricks-Hurst placed third with a 1,286. Lehigh Carbon's top duo won that event with a 1,301 and a Westmoreland duo was second at 1,299.
The best finish for the Penn College women was a third in team competition.
"We're going to lose our two anchor players Hendricks and Hurst because of graduation. They are going to be sadly missed and hard to replace, they're just so well-seasoned," Vincenzes said. "But we're looking forward to next season already."