The Anderson University Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) took fifth place during the 8th Annual Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Unified Bowling Championship, which was held on Sunday at the Royal Pin Western in Indianapolis.

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"The HCAC Unified Bowling event is always a great time to see how sports unites people and is a way to impact lives," SAAC Advisor Jennifer Myhre said. "The Special Olympic Athletes enjoy sports, comradery and competition as much as our student-athletes and it's a nice opportunity to team up with Madison County Special Olympics and partner with them. We appreciate the conference organizing the event and the student-athletes taking the time to be part of it."

The HCAC continued its annual partnership with Special Olympics Indiana.

The event saw over 60 student athletes from its 10 member schools and over 60 special Olympics athletes from Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio participate. The day filled with laughs and smiles also showcased some top-notch competitive bowling. Unified sports give athletes with intellectual disabilities and athletes without intellectual disabilities the opportunity to compete together on a team.  Each school had a total of three teams, with each team comprised of a total of four, two athletes with intellectual disabilities and two athletics without. Teams finishing first, second, or third in their division received gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively, while fourth through tenth place received ribbons.

Anderson partnered with Special Olympics-Madison Country for the HCAC Unified Bowling Championships

"It was such a privilege and a blast to be part of the HCAC Unified Bowling Championship," SAAC President Noah LaBelle said. "This event is the only one of its kind in the entire world, and I am proud to be a part of it. There was nothing but smiles on everyone's faces. The Special Olympians are such an inspiration and an utter joy to be around; if anyone has not had a chance to work at a Special Olympic event, I would highly encourage you to because your experience there can be life changing!"

Anderson's Dalton Grubbs (Men's Soccer) was crowned as the HCAC MVP, bowling a three-game scratch score high of 606. Jacob Short, representing Anderson and Special Olympics-Madison County, garnered all-conference honors. All-Conference awards were presented to the top five HCAC Partners and the top five Special Olympics Athletes with the total pinfall plus handicap.

"It was such a great event being able to bowl along with the fantastic people of SAAC and meet the amazing Special Olympians," Grubbs said. "It was an amazing experience and I would highly recommend it to any other athlete."

Bowlers totals are the individuals' three-game scores including the handicap. Each institutional score is comprised of the sum of the school's two best team scores. Anderson fielded three teams for the event.

For Anderson's Team White, Jacob Short tossed a bowler's total of 714, Tyler Mangas tossed a bowler's total of 655, Jennifer Myhre (SAAC Advisor) compiled a bowler's total of 645 and Lauren Brown (Women's Soccer) put together a bowler's total of 590. Anderson's Team White notched a team score of 2,604.

For Anderson's Team Orange, Noah LaBelle (SAAC President/Men's Soccer) tossed a bowler's total of 677, Dalton Grubbs (Men's Soccer) threw a bowler's total of 636, Janet Roundtree put together a bowler's total of 609 and Adam Hughes turned in a bowler's total of 565. Anderson's Team Orange recorded a team score of 2,487.

For Anderson's Team Black, Jordan Short provided a bowler's total of 649, Jeffrey Asher put together a bowler's total of 620, Megan Long (Women's Tennis) turned in a bowler's total of 613 and Claire Hannaford (Women's Tennis) posted a bowler's total of 545. Anderson's Team Black turned in a team score of 2,417.

The Ravens secured fifth place in the HCAC team standings with a score of 5,091.

Transylvania University locked up first with a score of 5,220. Hanover College secured second with a score of 5,188, finishing ahead of Franklin College (5,114), Earlham College (5,133), Anderson, Defiance College (4,937), Manchester University (4,910), Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (4,723), Bluffton University (4,562) and Mount St. Joseph University (4,484).