“It was definitely a nice surprise,” Kanemoto said. “We don’t look at the individual scores when we’re bowling — it’s all about the team — so I had no idea I was even in the running.”
The winning wasn’t over as Kanemoto’s Wichita State Shockers also clinched the women’s team title, edging second-place Lindenwood by nine pins, 8,849 to 8,840. Wright State rounded out the top three women’s teams with 8,613.
While the individual title was a welcome surprise, it was the hard-fought team championship — from a field of 66 women’s teams — that meant the most to Kanemoto.
“I’ve never experienced it personally, but I think it would have been kind of weird to win as an individual and my team not win,” Kanemoto said. “This might have been the toughest field we’ve bowled in all season, so I’m really proud of my team.”
Kanemoto, 21, doesn’t take a single win for granted, especially with just one full season of collegiate bowling ahead of her. She has been bowling since she was 5 but may have to hang up her shoes when she leaves Wichita State to pursue a master’s degree or attend medical school next year.
“It’s going to be hard to leave behind a passion I’ve grown up with,” she said.
Until then, Kanemoto is determined to do her part to get the Shockers back to the national tournament.
Kanemoto and Hines weren’t the only local women to post top-10 individual finishes at the Kegel Collegiate Classic. Fairmont graduate Jessica Wolfe, now at Pikeville, placed eighth with 1,035.
• Wright State’s Michael McKee was the top local placer in the individual standings of the 72-team men’s division, finishing seventh with 1,116. Urbana’s Kyle Beers was a few pins behind with 1,109, in eighth place.
The Raiders finished 17th as a team, Urbana 23rd.
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