Kelly Belzeski Season 2014-15

• Q&A with Kelly Belzeski

• Kelly Belzeski Biography (PDF)

Honors & Awards

• NTCA All-American (Third Team: 2018)
• NTCA All-American (Honorable Mention: 2017)
• NTCA All-Academic Team (2016, 2017, 2018)
• Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award (2016, 2018)
• Academic All-Big Ten (2016, 2017, 2018)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018; Spring 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
• Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)

2017-18 (Senior)
In her senior season, Kelly Belzeski (pronounced BELL-zesk-EE) earned third team All-American accolades. She competed in all 10 of Nebraska’s events in 2017-18 and posted an average of 211.4. Belzeski bowled a pinfall of 785 in four games at the NCAA Championship and helped Nebraska make it to the national semifinal.

Belzeski notched one win, three top five finishers and one top 10 finish in 2017-18. She recorded her first win of the season with an average of 233.8 to lead Nebraska to a second place finish at the Mid-Winter Classic. She also recorded a pair of runner-up finishes at the Brunswick Bearcat Open (218.8) and at the SFA Stormin’ Ladyjack Invitational (229.2). Her other top five finish was at the Central Missouri Invitational, where she finished fifth with an average of 194.4. Belzeski also posted a seventh-place finish at the Prairie View A&M Invitational with a score of 220.17. Her high score of the season was 1,341 pins at the Prairie View A&M Invitational and she posted a score above a 200 average in seven of Nebraska’s nine tournaments.

Belzeski continued making a positive impact in the community during her senior season. She was named to the NTCA All-Academic Team, was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, earned a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten team and was on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. Along with her success in the classroom, Belzeski earned a spot on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for the fourth consecutive season.

2016-17 (Junior)
Belzeski took a step forward for the Huskers in 2016-17, becoming one of NU's strongest players in some of its most important tournaments of the season. She earned All-America recognition for the first time as a junior, receiving NTCA honorable-mention All-America honors in 2017. She finished with the highest individual average at the NCAA Championship, posting a score of 217.6 to lead NU to a national runner-up finish.

Belzeski was at her best in the final three months of the season, as she finished with an average above 200 in each of NU's final five tournaments. She posted scores of 208.2 and 212.5, respectively, at the SFA Stormin' Ladyjack Invitational and the Crusader Classic in back-to-back weeks in February before winning her first-career tournament title with a career-high average of 226.6 at the Central Missouri Mid-America Invitational. She also scored a strong 213.6 at the Big Red Invitational to finish 10th overall.

She continued her strong work in the classroom and the community, as she was named to both the NTCA All-Academic Team and the Academic All-Big Ten team for the second consecutive season. She was also named to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in both semesters, and she earned a spot on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for a third time in 2017.

Belzeski also participated in the 2017 USBC Intercollegiate Singles Championships, reaching the quarterfinal round. She qualified for the championships after she won the 196-player Intercollegiate Singles Sectional Qualifier in Addison, Ill., with a six-game total pinfall of 1,284.

2015-16 (Sophomore)
Belzeski saw extended action for the first time in her Husker career as a sophomore, participating in nine of Nebraska's 10 events in 2015-16. The Schererville, Ind., native averaged a 199.2 for the season, helping the Huskers to a second-place national finish.

At the Crusader Classic in November, Belzeski posted an average of 203.3 to help the Huskers to a third-place finish. She was at her best at the TRACK Kat Klash in early December, averaging a 205.5 to help the Huskers to the tournament victory.

Belzeski continued her strong work off the lanes as a sophomore, claiming a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award. She earned NTCA All-Academic Team and Academic All-Big Ten honors while earning spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall and spring. She was also named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for her work in the community.

2014-15 (Freshman)
Belzeski saw action at the TRACK Kat Klash and provided depth for the 2015 NCAA Champion Huskers throughout the season.

A standout in the classroom, Belzeski made the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll both semesters her freshman season, and was named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2015.

Before Nebraska
Belzeski joined the Huskers after compiling a successful career at Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind. She earned first-team all-state and first-team all-conference honors, while also claiming Post-Tribune Indiana High School Bowler-of-the-Year accolades as a senior in 2014.

Belzeski also led her team to a runner-up finish at the 2013 Indiana State Championships before adding a third-place team finish in 2014. She was the Indiana individual runner-up as a senior.

A standout in the classroom as well, Belzeski was a member of the National Honor Society in 2013 and 2014. 

Personal
The daughter of Robert and Kathleen Belzeski, Kelly was born June 8, 1996. She has two sisters, Lisa and Amy, and one brother, Bobby. Kelly earned her bachelor's degree as a social science education major at Nebraska in December of 2018. She was a two-time NTCA All-Academic Team and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. Belzeski also earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Awards in 2016 and 2018. She is a nine-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll and a four-time member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.