LAS VEGAS -- The University of St. Francis men's bowling team set a school record on Saturday before dominating the competition on Sunday, claiming its first tournament championship of the 2025-26 season when it defeated Newman University (Kan.) at the Las Vegas Collegiate Shoot-Out.

Individually, three Saints placed in the Top 40, including two in the Top 12.  Jalen Pfaff paced the group with his 1,185 series over five games (237.0 avg.) to finish in third place among 478 total bowlers.  In finishing just seven pins shy of first place, he produced five straight 200-plus rounds, and even carried a perfect game into the 11th frame of Game 1.  For his efforts, Pfaff was named to the Collegiate Shootout All-Tournament Team - a feat he also accomplished exactly one year ago - which now marks four tournaments in a row in which he has received that honor.

Trevor Anifer finished in the No. 12 spot at 1,143 (228.6) with his game highs of 269 and 250.

Also averaging better than 200 on the day was Christopher Bald who recorded a 213.2 clip while knocking down1,066 pins for 38th place.

After finishing the final day of the Glenn Carlson Invitational with three consecutive 1100 series on Friday, USF duplicated the feat on Saturday by starting the Collegiate Shoot-Out with three more.  The six consecutive marks of 1126, 1139, 1140, 1142, 1151, and 1100 set a new program record for the Saints in that category which was capped off with a must-have strike from Pfaff in the final frame of the last game.

Needing to finish among the Top 8 to advance to bracket play, the Saints secured the No. 4 seed after eight qualifying games over the two days.  In the qualifying round, the Fighting Saints placed fourth overall in the field of 61 teams, totaling 8,845 pins knocked down between its five individual games and 16 Baker contests.  Wichita State University (Kan.) claimed the top spot, registering 9,244 pins, followed by Mount Mercy University (Iowa) (8.922) and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (8,910).

The Saints opened tournament play in one of two four-team pods with No. 1 Wichita State, No. 5 St. Ambrose University (Iowa) and No. 8 Muskingum University (Ohio).  Authoring one of the two best scores over a four-game series, St. Francis (924) and Wichita State (1,027) each advanced to the championship round - along with Mount Mercy and Newman - which consisted of a best-score showdown over four games. The Saints won the shootout with another score of 924, besting Newman by 64 pins.

Wichita State's Carter Street claimed the individual crown with his 238.4 average (1,192 pin total).

Up Next
Next up for the Saints is the 18th Annual Storm Baker Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 10 at Stardust Bowl in Addison, Ill.

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