On Wednesday, April 19, 2017, Pennsbury senior Kimberly Bonar was recognized for committing to continue her bowling career at the collegiate level. To view photos of the event, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Kimberly Bonar – Adelphi University (Bowling)
Major: Molecular Biology
Final list of colleges: Adelphi, Nova Southeastern, Florida Southern, Bellarmine
Reasons for choosing Adelphi: “I was really set on Adelphi from the first moment I saw it, but I knew I should keep my options open. I was looking around, and I went to visit Nova Southeastern in January because I also had a scholarship offer. That made it hard to choose between the schools because I really did like the campus and atmosphere in Florida and, of course, the weather, but I really did like the campus – how it was built and spread out, plus they have such a great science program.
“But I realized I really wanted to bowl in college, and Adelphi was my number one bowling school. They did also offer more scholarship money, which was also a big deciding factor. With Adelphi, I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. I met all the girls on the bowling team, and I really loved them. The admissions directors were so helpful – I was talking to one of them at a college fair for about a half hour, and I felt so connected to the school just talking to him. I also have family up there, so I can be nearby. I’m still close to home but not so close where I can commute. It’s just such a great feeling knowing I’m near the city, but I’m not in it, so I don’t have to deal with the rush. Overall, the student life, the campus and the way the faculty was towards me – I really loved it.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in bowling at the collegiate level? “I was playing softball since I was 10, and one of my teammates suggested that I try bowling because I’m an athlete, so I thought I’d give it a shot my sophomore year. I was bowling with a house ball just throwing it down the lane wanting to knock pins down. Towards the end of my sophomore year, I really felt hooked on the sport, and I wanted to learn how to bowl properly and become an actual athlete with the sport, so my junior year I worked really hard on form. I worked with coach Dave a lot to help me work out all the little problems I had.
“I was jayvee/varsity last year, and senior year was the first year I bowled varsity completely. I just did so well. I went from a 175 to a 199 average through the season, which really showed my progression with the sport. It was just so great because I did so well at so many of our big tournaments – I was bowling really high series and high games, which was awesome. I just felt so comfortable with the sport because what changed me from softball to bowling was the mentality and knowing whatever happens out there in bowling is because of me. It’s myself – I know what I have to do whereas softball it’s a whole team sport, and it’s about the other eight players on the field. In bowling, if I can do my part and if I bowl well, I know it’s going to help us in the end.
“It’s such a great sport to be a part of because of the team bonding and the feeling of doing well. I won the SOL singles title, placed sixth at regionals and 21st in states, which for me, I’m pretty proud of myself. Going from a house ball sophomore year to at least placing in states was pretty awesome. Coach Dave helped me throughout the whole year. I was learning new techniques. The amount of practice we did helps overall. I’m excited for college because I know I’ll progress even more than I have.”
Coach Dave Nicol says: “Basically, Kimberly’s only been bowling three years. She started bowling her sophomore year. She’s very dedicated, she bowls Saturday morning, she bowls in tournaments on Sunday – she’ll bowl seven days a week if you let her. A lot of hard work got her where she’s at right now.
“She is a natural athlete. She was a very good softball player, but she had an injury and stopped playing softball and started bowling.”
About Kimberly:
Favorite food: Lobster Tail
Favorite movie: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Favorite music: Pop and R&B
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