Dec 11th – The Sojourn’s Athlete of the Week, presented by Amplify Media, is Landon Thomas from the Indiana Wesleyan Men’s Bowling team.
Thomas is a sophomore from Denver, IN, and a graduate of North Miami HS.
“I played sports my whole life,” Thomas said. “All my friends started bowling so I just decided to go along with them and I stuck with it. Now I’m here.”
Thomas found IWU to be close to home, good for his major and a place to grow spiritually and athletically.
“Before tournaments we have team devotionals and that’s a good team bonding time,” Thomas said. “We’ve had a lot of growth over the past couple years.”
Thomas sees his own leadership as one of bringing freshmen in and making the transition from high school to college bowling more smooth.
“He is well respected among his peers and I feel he could be a great asset as a leader in our program,” Coach Karlin said.
Sophomore teammate Caiden Lundsford has only positive things to say about Thomas and the person and teammate he is.
“He is always very outgoing, well-spoken and always a great help to the team. He is a great asset to the team,” Lundsford said. “Caiden is always putting up those high scores in qualifying and in tournaments. He is a great guy on and off the lanes.”
The team won its first win in program history at the Warrior Classic Nov. 23 in Flint, MI. This win meant a lot to the team and Thomas as he saw it as a way to show each other and the coaches what they are capable of.
“Landon’s biggest asset is that he is able to stay focused and in the moment,” Coach Karlin said. “When his name is called to step into a game he is ready and prepared to execute shots and bowl his best.”
Before coming to IWU, Thomas saw bowling as an individual sport, but now sees his sport as a team and a community working together towards a common goal.
“Landon is an energetic, driven, young man. He works hard to learn the game of bowling and improve and it has been to watch him grow into the bowler he is becoming,” Coach Karlin said. “Landon is a great teammate and truly cares about those on his team.”
The team has three more tournaments until the Crossroads League Championship on Feb. 20 in Jackson, MI.
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