THE RUNDOWN  
DBU Bowling kicked off their 2025-26 season at Cityview Lanes in Fort Worth, Texas, for SWIBC I and SWIBC II on October 4th and 5th.

The Men's Varsity team started Saturday with four team games of 1072, 991, 866, and 899. After adding 1878 pins in ten baker games, Men's Varsity came away with an eleventh-place finish out of fourteen teams, totaling 5706 pins. Junior Noah Raleigh-Turner led the team, averaging 224.8 over the course of the four-team games.

On Sunday, the Men's Varsity Patriots bowled six team games, totaling 841, 928, 955, 994, 860, and 870. The result was a fifth-place finish out of fourteen teams, totaling 5488 pins. Freshman Garrett Smith led the team, averaging 201.3 during the six-team games.

Alongside the average leaders from DBU on Saturday and Sunday, the varsity lineup had contributions from Senior Paul Marquez, Juniors Ryan Lira and Zack Wassam, and freshmen Brent Moody and Cade Carson.

DBU also fielded two JV Men's teams, JV1 finished sixth on both Saturday and Sunday. JV2 finished ninth on both Saturday and Sunday. The JV1 squad was led by Travis Sorola and comprised of junior Seth Haney, sophomore Justin Reyes, and freshmen Jacob Wilson, Joshua Carrillo, LaDarrius Thomas, and Stephen Connor. JV2 was comprised of senior John Miranda, sophomores Chase Walker and David You, and freshmen Isaiah Thomas and Sebastian Staurt.

For the first time, DBU Bowling also fielded a Varsity Women's team. The Lady Patriots finished in tenth place on both Saturday and Sunday. The team was led by freshman Emily Mendez, who averaged 143.4 for ten games over the weekend. In addition, the Varsity Women's team had contributions from sophomores Makenzie Lewis and Tatyanna Terrell, and freshman Heather Barrett, Alyssa Ensle, and Natalia Gonzales.

On Wednesday, the Patriots took part in a historic event for collegiate bowling. The Red River Challenge is a new series of head-to-head matches against Southern Nazarene University. This new concept, developed by Mark Jeffreys from SNU and Jonathan Beyer from DBU, represents a future for athletic competition in bowling. The match features singles, doubles, and baker team competition.

Competition started with Seth Hany, Stephen Connor, Garrett Smith, and Noah Raleigh-Turner bowling in four round robin singles. Scoring was led by Seth Haney, who averaged 253, highlighted by back-to-back 279 games. Noah Raleigh-Turner also shot big in the fourth game with a 289 game. In the fifth game showcase match, Seth Haney defeated Landon McConnell 238 to 233 in a thriller, giving DBU a 67-pin lead after singles.

In doubles, Paul Marquez and Seth Haney led the scoring. The combo averaged XXX over the four round robin games. In the fifth game showcase match, Paul and Seth were defeated by Riley Speer and Brandon Handog 463 to 407. After doubles, DBU held on to a 15-pin lead.

Finally, in baker team competition, the Patriots averaged 182 over ten Baker games. Unfortunately, this was not enough to put away SNU, resulting in a 13,143 to 13,033 loss.

"How much fun was that? What an incredible event for the future of college bowling." DBU Bowling Head Coach Jonathan Beyer said. "Overall, it was a great opening week for DBU Bowling. We have a lot to be proud of. We gathered some good experience and points during the SWIBC weekend and then let our competitive side show in our match against our rival from the other side of the river. They might hold the trophy for now, but we will get our shot to take it back in a few weeks. This team is special. I cannot wait to see what we accomplish this season and how we can continue to share the love of Christ through bowling."

The rematch will take place on Monday, November 10 at the International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas. 

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 
- The Red River Challenge was the first of its kind for collegiate bowling, a new style of competition.
- Garrett Smith finished seventh on the all-tournament list in SWIBC II, the highest of any DBU bowler historically.
- DBU Men's Varsity currently ranks 45th through week one of the 2025-26 collegiate bowling season, the highest ranking in team history.
                                                                                                                                         
INSIDE THE NUMBERS  
1,072 – The highest team game in DBU Bowling history, bowled during SWIBC I.
224.8 – The highest individual average in DBU Bowling history, set my Noah Raleigh-Turner during SWIBC I.
5 – Ties the highest finish for DBU Bowling during a regular season SWIBC tournament.

UP NEXT  
The Patriots head to Wichita, Kansas, for the Mid-States Championships this weekend. The tournament starts at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 18, at Bowlero Northrock Lanes.