Women's Bowling | 10/18/2026 6:08:00 PM
STRUTHERS, Ohio – Over the weekend at Holiday Bowl, the 2026 Chelsea Gilliam Penguin Classic hosted by Youngstown State ended with the ninth-ranked North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University bowling team facing and defeating three ranked teams on Sunday in best-of-seven bracket play.
As a result, the Aggies finished fifth in their first-ever visit to the Penguin Classic. A&T went 9-4 over the weekend, and the Aggies are 20-6 overall. A&T finished the tournament with a total pinfall of 13,784 after totaling 3,740 pins during Sunday's best-of-seven bracket play in Baker format. In the final standings, defending NCAA national champions and top-ranked Jacksonville State beat second-ranked Vanderbilt 4-0 in the championship match to win the tournament. Fifth-ranked Nebraska finished third, and sixth-ranked Youngstown State rounded out the top five by finishing fourth.
The Aggies entered bracket play as the No. 7 seed, which put them in a matchup against Sacred Heart, the 10
th-ranked team in the country. The Aggies used sophomore
Charisse Graham as the leadoff bowler throughout Saturday's traditional team play, but to open Sunday's competition, they used junior
Jasmine Hall in the leadoff spot.
Graham followed Hall as A&T's No. 2 bowler, with senior
Savannah Burgin at No. 3 and junior
Victorya White at No. 4. Reigning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Bowler of the Week
Payton Hartgrove served as A&T's anchor. After dropping Game 1, 211-192, the Aggies recovered with a gentleman's sweep, winning the next four games to take the series 4-1. The Aggies out-pinned the Pioneers 442-320 over the final two games.
Fourth-ranked Arkansas State was next up for the Aggies. Graham returned to the leadoff spot. Hall moved to No. 2, and sophomore
Alexa Escamilla became the No. 3 bowler. White and Hartgrove remained in their same positions from the matchup against Sacred Heart. The teams split the first two games, but the Aggies' Game 3 and Game 4 performances against the Red Wolves were two of their better games this season. That momentum helped the Aggies out-pin the Red Wolves 523-395 to take a 3-1 series lead. A&T's 267 in Game 4 was their second-best output in Baker play over the weekend after the Aggies bowled a 278 against Niagara on Friday.
Arkansas State showed dominance in Game 5, totaling 278 pins to A&T's 187. However, the Aggies avoided a Game 7 by squeaking out a 205-204 win over the Red Wolves in Game 6. With that win, the Aggies were in position to take fifth place. They needed to defeat 11
th-ranked Wright State to do so. The Raiders beat the Aggies in traditional team play on Saturday and came out on fire on Sunday. The Aggies' lineup stayed the same from the Arkansas State win, but the Raiders took charge early, posting a 289-183 win over A&T in Game 1. But the Aggies fired back. They won the next three games by out-pinning the Raiders 640-545 to take a 3-1 lead.
Wright State regrouped and took Game 5, 221-190, before forcing a Game 7 with a 234-175 win. But the Aggies came through in the clutch, winning Game 7 225-197 to finish undefeated against three ranked opponents. Individually, Hartgrove had her second straight top-10 finish. A week after winning the Colonial Classic, she placed 10
th at the Penguin Classic.
A&T returns to action Oct. 30-Nov. 1 when they travel to Orlando, Fla., to play in the Destination/Orlando tournament hosted by Sacred Heart at AMF Sky Lanes.
