The Goshen College men’s and women’s bowling teams took to the Brunswick Midwest Collegiate Classic in Detroit, Michigan on Oct. 3 and 4 — and left with a win.

The meet was a Tier 1 event, the highest in collegiate bowling. The men finished 37th out of 45 teams, scoring 7134 combined pins. The women finished eighth out of 35, scoring 7370 combined pins. Bekah Muzyk, a junior music education major, took the win overall with a total of 1108, the only woman bowler to score over 1100. She averaged over 221, six pins higher than second place. This success has placed the women’s team at 15th in the nation.

“It was a dream,” Muzyk said. “When I came into college and learned what a Tier 1 tournament was and what it was like, I wanted to be that type of bowler.”

“That was one of her personal goals,” said head coach Scott Curtis. “And I said, ‘Well, you just took care of that, what are you going to do now?’ She says, ‘Well, when I go to another Tier 1, then I’ll win one of those.’”

Muzyk was one of a couple bowlers who were around when the team was founded in 2023. Thomas Podlesney, a junior biochemistry major, says he’s happy to see how far the team has come. “Obviously, there’s still work to do, but definitely improved from last year,” he said. “We’re doing really well this season overall as a group, and Bekah is bowling really well. I’m not a coach, but I think it’s cool to see how well they’re doing.”

While Muzyk was the highest scoring Maple Leaf, she was by no means the only highlight for the team. Brendan Riley finished 49th in the men’s bracket, scoring 988 including three games over 200 and Kaidance Gates placed 80th, averaging over 166 pins and hitting a personal best 186 in her second game.

“It’s huge when you have teams from all over the country,” Curtis said. “We had teams from out west, down south, all over the Midwest and the East Coast travel to these tournaments because they’re big time tournaments, and it sets you up to see where you stand as far as nationally.”

Muzyk says she is proud of the way the team is shaping up. “Performance-wise, we’re definitely achieving more in the start of this semester and the start of the season than we did last year,” she said. “Not saying last year was a bad season by any means, but already placing top eight in a Tier 1… puts into perspective that our goals are achievable and that we are putting in the right amount of effort to keep growing.”

Last year, the GC women’s team finished 24th of 42 in the event, scoring 6934, and the men placed 49th of 51, scoring 6793.

“We’re scoring higher. We’re more positive. We’re more focused on the goals we want to achieve, and that’s why we are in the top half in the nation this year,” Podlesney said.

Muzyk has been raising the bar for the Leafs.  “To repeat as the winner, and even to make the top five in these tournaments, to do it year after year is extremely hard,” Curtis said. “She’s already accomplished what she wanted to do, but now that’s pushing her. She wants more.”

Overall, the team has improved this year. “It’s just been fun from the word ‘Go,’” said Curtis. “My wife says I have my dream job, and I do, because she says, ‘You’re having fun doing something you absolutely love doing.’”

The next Maple Leafs bowling event is this Friday at the NAIABCA Invitational in Addison, Illinois. Both men’s and women’s teams will be competing.