NORFOLK, Va., March 24, 2023 – North Carolina A&T State junior Melanie Katen was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Bowler of the Year, presented by Wells Fargo, the conference has announced. Morgan State’s Johnna Hill was named Rookie of the Year, and North Carolina A&T State’s Kim Terrell-Kearney earned Coach of the Year honors.

All awards were voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
 
Katen was named MEAC Bowler of the Year for the second straight season after leading the Aggies to the MEAC regular-season title and a top-10 national ranking throughout the 2022-23 season. She leads the MEAC in frame fill percentage (87.8%, 10^th in the nation), single-pin spare percentage (95.4%, sixth in the nation), spare conversion (77.3%, fifth in the nation), “makeable” spare conversion (86.3%) and Player Composite Performance Index (93.468%). Her 20.096 pins/frame average ranks fourth in the MEAC, and in the MEAC #2 meet the weekend of Feb. 18-19, she became the first Aggie to ever bowl a 300. Aggie bowlers have been named Bowler of the Year each of the last three seasons (and five times overall).
 
Hill turned into a key cog for the nationally-ranked Bears, leading the MEAC in strike percentage (52.0%) and rakning second in scoring average with 20.243 pins per frame. In Baker play, Hill averaged a MEAC-best 20.405 pins per frame, and she ranks third in the conference, recording at least nine pins on her first ball 74% of the time. Her 9.057 pins on first ball are also a MEAC best, and her 89.857% PCPI ranks fourth. Hill is the first Morgan State bowler ever to be named Rookie of the Year.
 
Terrell-Kearney guided the Aggies to the MEAC regular-season championship, going a combined 15-1 across conference competition. Her program was ranked in the top 10 in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Top 25 poll throughout the season, as high as second in the December 2022 poll – the highest ranking in program history. As the top seed in the 2023 MEAC Bowling Championship, Kearney’s Aggies come into the postseason with an 86-31 overall record. This is her third consecutive MEAC Coach of the Year honor and fourth overall.
 
Joining Katen and Hill on the All-MEAC First Team are Maryland Eastern Shore’s Brooke Roberts and North Carolina A&T State’s Chloe Newberry and Lauren Tomaszewski.
 
The 2023 MEAC Bowling Championship is currently set for Friday through Sunday at Pinboy’s at the Beach in Virginia Beach, Va. Sunday’s championship match will broadcast via re-air on ESPNU on Moday, April 3 at 6 p.m.
 
For more information, visit Championship Central.

2022-23 Bowling All-MEAC Teams, presented by Wells Fargo
As voted on by the conference’s head women’s bowling coaches and sports information directors.

Bowler of the Year: Melanie Katen, North Carolina A&T State
Rookie of the Year: Johnna Hill, Morgan State
Coach of the Year: Kim Terrell-Kearney, North Carolina A&T State