Both the Raiders men’s and women’s teams have seven freshmen on the roster this season and only a single senior in either lineup, Jacob Spangenberg. There are a few familiar faces among the Raiders rookies in Kara Bruckner, of Stebbins, Elizabeth Oster, Fairmont, and Evan Haas, of Mason.
The varsity women’s team got off to a good start, winning their fifth consecutive University of Northwestern Ohio Racer Classic title on Sept. 16. Both the junior varsity men’s and women’s teams also came away with wins at UNOH.
“We’re young, but we still like to win and we always want to be competitive,” Fleck said.
While several of the bowlers are new to the collegiate ranks, the Raiders coaching staff has decades of experience on and off the lanes. Jeff Fleck is in his 13th year with the Raiders while women’s coach Rob Dever is in his 10th year. On the men’s side, Jeremy Fleck, Dean Reynolds and Justin Marcinko are more than coaches, all three are former Raiders bowlers. Marcinko competed on the squad that won the 2012 sectional qualifier.
The Wright State bowling program has built a strong national reputation over the past decade. Both the women’s and men’s teams are coming off solid seasons as the women won six tournaments last year, including their first Tier 1 event. They finished the season ranked No. 6 on the final 2017-18 CollegeBowling.com rankings.
The Wright State men tallied wins in two tournaments and finished as runner-up in four other events. They placed second at the Collegiate Club Championships and were 15th in the CollegeBowling.com final rankings.
While neither team qualified to nationals last season, both the Wright State men and women have competed in the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships. The men last made the trip in 2012 while the women have qualified seven times since 2009 – most recently in 2017.
There is some added motivation to qualify this season as Poelking South will host both the Intercollegiate Team and Singles championships.
“Never again will they have the opportunity to bowl at nationals in their own backyard, in front of a hometown crowd,” Fleck said. “They can sleep in their own beds and bowl in front of their family and friends – what an awesome opportunity.”
Wright State bowling fans don’t have to wait until April 2019 to see the Raiders in action as they will compete locally at both the Pikeville Orange & Black, Oct. 13-14 at Beaver-Vu Bowl, and the Wright State Raider Classic at Beaver-Vu and Poelking Woodman Lanes, Nov. 10-11.
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