Rio Grande's Jacob Lemaster (left) earned All-Tournament honors in the junior varsity division, while Daniel Gross (right) did the same in the varsity division at the season-opening Welcome Back Tournament, which finished on Sunday in Columbus.

Posted: Sep 17, 2023

Gross, Lemaster shine for Rio men in season opener

Rio Grande Sports Information
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Daniel Gross rolled his way to a second-place finish and led the University of Rio Grande men's varsity bowling team to a fourth place showing in the 2023 Welcome Back Tournament, which wrapped up a two-day run on Sunday at the Columbus Square Bowling Palace.
Gross, a senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, averaged a 229 after totaling 2,065 pins over the course of nine games, including a high score of 257 in his fifth game, to finish third among the 74 overall participants and second among varsity competitors.
Charles Wilken from the University of the Cumberlands took medalist honors with 2,116 pins in nine games for a 235 average, while Jacob Willard of Muskingum University's junior varsity squad was second with 2,076 pins in nine games.
Rio Grande's top junior varsity score came from freshman Jacob Lemaster (Chillicothe, OH), who placed seventh overall and second in his division with 1,937 pins in nine games. His high score of 232 came in the final round.
Both Gross and Lemaster made the All-Tournament team in their respective divisions.
As a team, Rio's varsity team tallied 8,823 pins over nine games. Muskingum took first place with 9,833 pins, while Midway University (9,506) and the University of the Cumberlands (9,114) rounded out the top three.
The RedStorm junior varsity team finished third among the six competing teams with 8,411 pins. Muskingum (8,646) defeated Midway (8,570) for team honors.
Also representing Rio in the varsity competition were senior Reece Collins (Columbus, OH), who was 23rd overall with 1,712 pins in nine games for a 190 average; sophomore Shawn Woodyard (Jackson, OH), who was 29th with 1,598 pins in nine games and an average of 178; freshman Dominic Catanese (North Royalton, OH), who placed 31st with 1,586 pins in eight games for an average of 198; sophomore Alex Coffelt (Canton, OH), who took 58th place overall with 1,106 pins in six games for an average of 184; and freshman Gage Hamm (Rushsylvania, OH), who was 64th with 756 pins in four games for an average of 189.
The remainder of the RedStorm junior varsity unit was comprised of junior Hunter Bolender (Mount Orab, OH), who was 25th overall with 1,671 pins in nine rounds for an averge of 186; sophomore Nathaniel Wiles (Cheboygan, MI), who placed 26th overall at 1,664 pins in nine games for an average of 185; freshman Tyler Knight (West Liberty, OH), who was 33rd overall with 1,577 pins in nine rounds for an average of 175; and senior Jalin Ragland (Columbus, OH), who averaged 174 after toppling 1,562 pins in nine games.
Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Oct. 7 at the Ohio Bowling Conference No. 1 Tournament in Columbus.