The second senior to commit to a college athletically is Kristen Cobb. She signed with Mount Vernon Nazarene University to bowl starting this coming fall. Kristen loves the kind, Christian environment as well as the people that serve it.
Cobb plans on majoring in Speech-Language Pathology. “There is a lot of flexibility within this career, which I appreciate,” she explains. In her younger years, she participated in many years of speech therapy, so she understands the powerful impact of a good therapist.
Kristen has been bowling since the second grade, where she participated in the local youth league. At first, bowling was just something to do on Saturdays. It was after much help from Melinda Stephen, that her love for it grew immensely.
Her favorite memories from bowling in high school are related directly with winning. In the 2023-2024 season, the girls team was undefeated in conference play, and were two year in a row KMAC champs.
“Another one of my favorite memories is winning the 2025 KMAC tournament. We were trailing Northmor by 71 pins heading into the bakers, but bowled a 190 in our sixth and final baker to beat Northmor by 19 pins. The whole team was so ecstatic that we were able to come back and win.”
After postseason tournaments, the team goes out to eat together. One of their favorite places is Texas Roadhouse. For Kristen, says this is always great bonding time.
Many superstitions come with bowling for Kristen. At all games, she wears her hair down. She also wears the same pants and shoes every match. After learning how important it is to take her time before each ball, she also spends at least 20 seconds over the fan.
Cobb’s coaches always remind her of Hannah Vaughn, who started her bowling career with an average of under 100. Hannah ended up being State Runner-Up and All-American collegiate bowler. This story inspired Kristen, showing that if she wanted to get better, she needed to put in the time and
effort.
Cobb adds, “I am thankful for my teammates and their support, for always making me laugh, and for making the matches fun. I am also thankful to the coaches for always encouraging me to do my best, to not overthink, and to have fun.”
