Struthers, Ohio — The Youngstown State bowling team earned its third straight runner-up finish at the Penguin Classic as it fell in the championship match to Arkansas State on Sunday afternoon. The three-day tournament was held at YSU's home facility, Holiday Bowl.

The Penguins and Red Wolves were battling for the top spot in the standings throughout the first two days of qualifying, and they entered Sunday with a berth in the championship all but locked up. YSU finished 453 pins ahead of third-place Nebraska, and Arkansas State held the top pinfall after 13 qualifying matches with a 13,175, which was 45 pins ahead of the Penguins.

The tournament format put the top two seeds head-to-head in a best-of-seven Baker match to decide the champion, and Arkansas State won 4-0.

"In terms of the things you want to see during a season's opening event, we checked a lot of boxes this weekend," said YSU head coach Doug Kuberski. "I'm very proud of the ladies for how they navigated the challenges out there. And I'm also quite excited about all the great information we gathered this weekend and can't wait to get back after it this week. We know the ingredients are there. This is a special team."

The Penguins began the morning one pin behind Arkansas State in total pins over the first two day of qualifying, and they were pitted against them to start the normal round-robin. Arkansas State won that Baker total pins match 1,096-987, but YSU rebounded to win its next two matches while getting each of its bowlers into the starting lineup. The Penguins beat Valparaiso 1,082-1,005, and they topped Bryant 959-825.

In the championship match, Arkansas State was clean in the opening game in a 225-193 win, and splits in the fifth and ninth frames hut the Penguins in a 198-195 loss in game two. YSU was clean through the first eight frames in game three but fell 218-205, and three YSU opens in game four allowed Arkansas State to win a low-scoring game 175-165.

The Penguins averaged an impressive 201.3 per game for the tournament, totaling 13,888 pins in 69 games. That was 103 pins behind Arkansas State, which was ranked second in the National Tenpin Coaches Association Preseason Top 25. YSU averaged 5.7 more pins per game than Nebraska, which was third in the preseason coaches poll.

Youngstown State won the first Penguin Classic that was held in 2019, and it has finished second in each of the last three editions in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Arkansas State won its second tournament title at Holiday Bowl.