SOMERSET, N.J. – The Saint Francis University bowling team is currently in the middle of a run of first-year athlete success, reflected in this year's conference awards as freshman Jewel Johnson was named to the Northeast Conference All-Rookie Team for the 2023-24 bowling season.

Johnson, who joins a crop of some of the best first-year bowlers in the country, came on for the Red Flash in the second half of the season, taking advantage of the open frames left by the departure of senior Kassidy Landwehr following the second Northeast Conference tournament. From there, she was able to capitalize on all opportunities while growing into a more prominent role as the team called on her.

The Harrisburg, Pa., native bowled 40 percent of the team's total frames, tallying an 18.46-pin average, the fourth highest in the NEC. She managed an 81 percent fill rate while striking on nearly 43 percent of her attempts, ranking third among nine rookie conference bowlers. Johnson was one of three rookies in the class to tally time in both the anchor and setup bowler positions.

This year's rookie honoree joins Ayanna Carroll and Mackenzie Keane as the third bowler to be named to the All-Rookie team under fourth-year head coach Ashley Bingham. In all, the Red Flash head coach has seen three of her five recruits come to earn a spot on the All-Rookie team. This highlights the potential for a bright future, as Bingham will have to look to the future as she will need to fill the roles of three departing senior bowlers in addition to Landwehr.

You can catch Johnson and the Saint Francis squad as they face Merrimack College in a play-in match to open the Northeast Conference Championship on March 22 at 9 a.m. Prior to the start of the double-elimination round, Johnson will be honored along with the rest of the conference award winners at the ceremony around 1 p.m. The play-in tournament, awards ceremony and the rest of the NEC Championship are set to be streamed live on NEC Front Row, the official streaming service of the Northeast Conference.

For more information on the Red Flash, visit sfuathletics.com and follow RedFlashBowling on Facebook, Instagram, and X.