In his last three bowls at the Professional Bowlers Association Players Championship, Wichita State senior Ryan Barnes was sent off with a standing ovation from the Northrock Bowling Lanes crowd in Wichita. 

He delivered with three consecutive strikes to close out an impressive Cinderella run in the competition.

Barnes was defeated by the eventual tournament champion, Bill O’Neill in the semifinal match but earned $35,000 dollars for placing third. 

Barnes earned a commissioner exemption to compete in the pre-tournament qualifier. He was joined by Wichita State teammates sophomore Spencer Robarge, fifth year senior Terrence Rock and sophomore Brandon Bonta. 

Barnes finished seventh in the qualifier rounds, while Rock placed 13th. Both bowlers advanced to the main tournament that began on Friday, Jan. 12. After 24 rounds of match play, Barnes was among the top five bowlers who qualified for the PBA Players Championship Finals.

Barnes entered the championship ladder as the fourth seed. In the first round, he took on fifth-seeded Chris Via. Barnes rolled eight strikes in his opening match to advance, 267-233.

In his second match, Barnes faced off against Nate Stubler, who was able to roll the first five strikes. Barnes led after Stubler rolled splits in the sixth and ninth frames. With the hometown crowd behind him, Barnes completed the comeback victory, 224-220.

In the semifinal match, Barnes finally fell to O’Neill. Barnes was unable to get a lead on O’Neill and lost, 215-205.

O’Neill earned his third career major and 14th career PBA Tour title, along with $100,000 in prize money.

Barnes will rejoin the Wichita State bowling team for their spring competitions. The team will travel to Plano, Texas, to compete in the SWIBC V tournament on Saturday, Jan. 20.