Avila to Host Second Annual Eagle Bowling Invitational
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – This weekend, the Avila University Bowling program will play host to the 2024 Eagle Bowling Invitational, featuring more than two dozen schools in three different levels of competition across two locations in the Kansas City metro.
This will be the second consecutive year that Avila Bowling hosts a regional invitational, a rare feat for a program in the midst of its third season of competition. Once again, Aaron's Family Fun Center in Belton, Missouri will be the site of both the men's and women's varsity competitions this Saturday and Sunday. And for the first time, the event expands with the addition of a men's junior varsity championship, to be held at Summit Lanes in Lee's Summit.
Competition at Aaron's in the varsity events will begin at 9 AM on both Saturday and Sunday, while action in the men's JV event at Summit Lanes begins at 8 AM both days. In all events, teams will compete in five team games over the course of the day Saturday, and then return for 16 Baker games on Sunday morning. After that, the event will pare down to an 8-team bracket, with competition beginning at approximately 1:30 for the varsity events and 12:30 for the JV event.
An awards ceremony crowning the team champions will follow the conclusion of bracket play. Before play begins on Sunday, the members of the All-Tournament team – the bowlers with the highest overall averages from across Saturday's five team games – will be revealed and recognized at approximately 8:30 AM, and then the senior class of every participating team, including Avila's Bryce Stewart, will be recognized before practice begins.
In the varsity event, the Second Annual Eagle Invitational will feature a total of 14 schools from across the country vying for both the tournament title and rankings points on the path to postseason qualification. Tournament hosts Avila will aim to defend its tournament title in the women's competition in last season's first annual event.
The Eagles headline a crew of nine NAIA schools competing in the event, which also features fellow KCAC squads Ottawa, Saint Mary and Kansas Wesleyan. Local powers Baker make their return to Aaron's for the event, alongside Peru State, Grand View and Central Methodist. NAIA Columbia will only be competing in the women's event.
From the NCAA ranks, Division II Southern Nazarene will make the trip to Kansas City for the first time, as will Oklahoma Christian, which will only be competing in the men's event. NCAA Division I schools Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State round out the group of 14 schools competing in the event this weekend.
As is customary, every team will live stream their own competition to their respective outlets. Avila will live stream to the Avila Bowling and Aaron's FFC Facebook pages as normal. The Avila Sports Network will also be on hand to provide coverage of four select lanes on Saturday and eight select lanes on Sunday, space permitting. Live updates and standings will be posted on both the Avila Athletics and Avila Bowling social media channels throughout the course of the weekend. A photo gallery will be created and shared in due time following the event.
For further information regarding the Eagle Bowling Invitational, or any of Avila Athletics' 14 varsity athletic programs, contact Sports Information Director Tim Hackett.
