Bowling | 12/3/2025 2:02:15 PM
North Carolina A&T junior Payton Hartgrove has been named the MEAC Bowler of the Week, while Aggies freshman Sara Giraldo earned Rookie of the Week honors following standout performances during competition play held November 23-30.
Hartgrove (Jr., Columbia, Ohio) delivered a top performance competing in 50 traditional frames and 82 Baker frames while recording an outstanding 93.9 percent overall fill rate and 63.6 percent strike percentage. She finished fifth overall individually in a competitive national field and helped guide NC A&T to a sixthplace team finish with a 6-7 overall record in the Colonial Lanes Classic hosted by Tulane University.
In traditional play, Hartgrove tallied 1,104 total pins across five matches for an impressive 228.8 average, finishing 2-3 against nationally recognized programs. She continued her strong showing in Baker competition, helping the Aggies post a 3-2 record while producing a 22.98 aveage per frame, the highest among all MEAC bowlers for the week. Her consistency extended to spare shooting as she led the conference in overall spare percentage (83.3 percent) and 9-count spare conversion rate (92.1 percent), while also ranking first in traditional frame average (22.08).
For the week, Hartgrove ranked first in the MEAC in traditional frame average, Baker frame average, overall fill percentage, striking percentage, 9-count spare percentage, and overall spare percentage, marking a dominant statistical performance for the week.
Giraldo (Fr., Bogotá, Colombia) earned MEAC Rookie of the Week honors after finishing 14th overall individually at the Colonial Lanes Classic on November 23 with a total of 1,054 pins in traditional play for a 210.8 average. She posted strong performances throughout the event, including a pair of 230-plus games, and followed with consistent Baker scores to round out a solid week of action.
Among MEAC competitors, Giraldo ranked third in overall average per frame (21.21), fourth in traditional average per frame (21.08) and second in striking percentage (58.3) for the week.