Kansas Wesleyan Women’s Bowling closed out the qualifying round of the 2022 NAIA Women’s Bowling National Championships earning the No. 4 seed and a first round bye on Thursday at Five Star Lanes in Sterling Heights, Mich.

The 12 teams that earned a spot to the National Championships vied for seeding on Thursday with 24 baker games in six sets.

KWU rocketed out of the gates with an 853 first set to lead the field, but fell to sixth after the second set.

The Coyotes then made a comeback, responding with a 779 in the third set to move up to fifth place. Another 779 in the fourth set kept the Coyotes in fifth, but big moves were about to happen.

Thanks to an 807 in the fifth set, the Coyotes moved up to the No. 4 spot.

Wesleyan went big in the sixth set again, posting a score of 847, just missing earning the No. 3 spot by three pins.

With the No. 4 position the Coyotes earned a first round bye in bracket play, which starts at 10 a.m. Eastern, 9 a.m. Central for the Coyotes. KWU will face the winner between No. 5 Pikeville and No. 12 seed William Penn for a chance to move on in the winner’s bracket.

The double elimination tournament continues with matches on Friday, and then the consolation bracket finals and championship series on Saturday.

SCAD Savannah leads the field with a score of 4853 in qualifying. St. Francis (Ill.) is in second at 4837. Baker is just three pins ahead of KWU for third at 4776, followed by KWU with 4773. Pikeville is fifth at 4761, Midland is sixth at 4684, Indiana Tech is sevenths at 4658, St. Xavier is eighth at 4620, Spring Arbor is ninth at 4578, Tennessee Southern is 10th at 4558, Lawrence Tech is 11th at 4538, and William Penn rounds out the field at 4511.