WYOMING, Mich. (May 3, 2021) – Josh Imhoff has been building toward this moment since arriving on the Oklahoma Christian campus in 2018, the first member of the first recruiting class for the university's fledgling club bowling program.

In the three seasons since then, Imhoff has established himself as one of the top collegiate bowlers in the U.S. and this week the junior from Cabot, Ark., will compete for a national title in the Intercollegiate Singles Championship, which will begin Tuesday at the Spectrum Entertainment Complex.

"I could not be more proud of this guy and his growth over the last few years," OC coach James Hayes said. "He has a bright future and I cannot wait to see what he does in Michigan."

In high school, Imhoff was a part of four Arkansas Class 7A state championship teams at Cabot High School. He was the gold medalist at the state tournament as a junior in 2017 and the silver medalist as a senior and earned All-State honors three times. Hayes thought the left-hander had the potential to become an anchor for OC's new program and that's exactly what has happened.

As a freshman at the ISC Sectional Qualifier in Dallas in 2019, Imhoff missed advancing to the national event by only 20 pins. The 2020 postseason was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning Imhoff had to wait two years for another opportunity.

This year at the Dallas Sectional Qualifier, Imhoff remained in the top six -- above the cutline – throughout the six-game set each contender rolled, eventually finishing fifth and earning one of only 24 spots for the ISC.

It's already been quite a season for Imhoff. He rolled the first 300 game in OC history, in the Hammer Lions Classic in St. Charles, Mo. He's won two tournaments – raising his career total to five – and his 219.21 scoring average (over 29 games) ranks seventh nationally.

In fact, among the 24 bowlers competing this week, Imhoff has the highest scoring average, as only five bowlers among the top 25 in that statistical category qualified for the ISC. The others were Michael Rachal of Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.), Steven Kocher of Bowling Green, Pete Vergos of Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) and Alec Keplinger of Wichita State.

The 24 bowlers will roll six qualifying games starting at 8:30 a.m. Central time (9:30 a.m. Eastern) on Tuesday for seeding purposes. The first round of match play will begin at 1 p.m., after which the field will be reduced to 16.

The second and third rounds of match play will be Wednesday, with four bowlers advancing to televised semifinals at 9 a.m. Central time on Saturday. The championship game will immediately follow the semifinals.

Imhoff is in the running for All-America honors and that list will be announced Wednesday.

"I can't wait to watch Josh this week at the Intercollegiate Singles Championship," Hayes said. "He has worked really hard to get here and I know he is excited for the opportunity to compete for a singles national championship."