Entire women's bowling program named as Academic All-OBC recipients

Throughout his time as the head coach of the women's bowling program at Shawnee State, Bryan Sturgell has always churned out teams who have performed at a high level in the classroom.

However, the 2024-25 women's bowling squad at Shawnee State accomplished a feat that is even rare even by the standards of most sponsored sport programs.

In all, each of the nine women's bowlers who spent the entire 2024-25 season with the Shawnee State women's bowling program -- Jackie Aubry, Cali Baird, Emma Billenstein, Olyvia Bittner, Onesti Evans, Brooklyn Foose, Morgan Higgins, Maria Mara and McKenna Roades -- were each named as Academic All-Ohio Bowling Conference members, as announced by OBC officials.

Six of the nine bowlers on the team posted grade point averages of 3.5 or better -- with Foose's 3.9 GPA in primary education heading the charge. Foose, a senior, has over 120 hours in her back pocket and has maintained her high GPA as a multi-sport athlete competing in women's bowling and women's tennis.

Higgins, who is a junior academically but just a sophomore in athletic eligibility, holds a 3.84 GPA as an individual majoring in the occupational therapy assistant program. She's earned over 65 hours to boot.

Four additional bowlers hold between a 3.6 to a 3.79 GPA, with McKenna Roades' 3.79 in studio arts and over 60 hours of academic credit, Cali Baird's 3.72 GPA and over 100 hours of academic credit, Maria Mara's 3.69 GPA and over 15 hours of academic credit as a true freshman and Emma Billenstein's 3.66 as a primary intervention specialist with over 50 hours of academic credit all falling in that category.

Athletes that fell between the 3.25 to 3.49 range included Jackie Aubry, who holds a 3.48 with over 80 hours passed, Olyvia Bittner, who has nabbed over 105 hours on her line while holding a 3.44 GPA in accounting, and Onesti Evans, who has passed 15 hours to start her academic career and has a 3.27 GPA as a sport management major.

Along with the above nine athletes, Hannah Rearick, who graduated early from the program, finished with a GPA above 3.8 as well -- rounding out a strong effort academically from top to bottom for the women's bowling squad.