Pursuing her goal of competing at collegiate level bowling, Newton High senior Madison Humphrey saw an opportunity to see how she stacks up against collegiate competition and took it.
Humphrey competed in a Greater Iowa Scholarship Bowling Tour tournament Jan. 10 in Cedar Rapids. Twenty-four girls competed, including some of the top college athletes, and they bowled eight games. The top six bowlers advanced to bowl another six games to compete for the title.
Humphrey finished second in the tournament, earning scholarship money. In the first eight games, Humphrey averaged 210, bowling games of 194, 219, 235, 203, 268, 170, 181 and 215. The 268 was a career-high game for Humphrey.
“It was a fun opportunity, but a long day,” Humphrey said. “There’s not a lot of high school students who bowl in this tournament. There are collegiate bowlers in it, but also a lot of college coaches there. One (coach) reached out to me from seeing me bowl Sunday. That was pretty cool.”
Humphrey went into the final six games seeded fifth. She averaged 217 — 190, 247, 200, 225, 214, 231 — in her final six games. Humphrey missed winning the tournament by six pins.
“I got into a rhythm, and I stuck with it,” she said of her single-game high 268. “It was an awesome game.”
The GISBT is a scratch bowling tournament held monthly, August through May, one Sunday every month. It is USBC sanctioned for boys and girls. Humphrey has competed in two of the six tournaments for the current season.
Humphrey said the tournaments are held at different bowling centers each month. She said she plans to bowl in the GISBT tournaments for the rest of the season to compete for more scholarship money.
Humphrey, who has been a steady force for the Newton High bowling team since she was a freshman, was awarded two local bowling scholarships last May. She was given a Jasper County USBC Men’s Association scholarship and a Trusler Family scholarship.
“I have chosen where I’m going to college, and plan to sign soon. Every scholarship helps me reach my goal of being able to bowl on a college team,” Humphrey said.
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
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