Keeping to Form, Kearsley Girls Bounce Back from 2025 Miss with 2026 Success
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
February 27, 2026
WATERFORD — Recent history certainly has shown one thing about the Flint Kearsley girls bowling program:
The Hornets may go one year without winning a state championship, but they don’t go two years in a row without a title.
That was the case again Friday at the Division 2 Finals, as Kearsley reclaimed its spot on the state’s throne by sweeping Marshall in the championship match.
It was the 11th Finals title since 2012 for Kearsley. Every year during that stretch that Kearsley has failed to win a championship, it has come back and won the following season.
Hornets senior Delaney Vanier said as is usually the case, not winning the title last year stoked a fire within the team throughout the season and again Friday.
“One hundred and 10 percent,” she said. “We pushed ourselves to the max every practice, every match and every tournament. This is what we wanted, and this is what we came to do.”
For the first part of the day though, Kearsley struggled.
It was the No. 5 seed out of the qualifying block, and the situation really seemed dire when Kearsley fell behind 2-0 to Tecumseh in the Quarterfinal round.
“We had to have a few talks today because we were missing some easy spares,” Kearsley head coach Jeff Vanier said. “We were throwing good shots, but it just wasn’t happening. We were down 0-2 in the first match. We ended up winning three and juggled some things around. We ended up going sweep, sweep.”
Delaney Vanier said she had one thought when the team fell behind 0-2 to Tecumseh.
“Scary,” Vanier said. “I was so nervous. My adrenaline was going crazy. But I’m glad we pulled through.”
After beating Tecumseh, Kearsley swept top-seeded Bay City John Glenn in the Semifinals.
The Hornets then rolled past first-time finalist Marshall 169-113, 154-126, 182-154.
The Redhawks had advanced to the Semifinals by the narrowest of margins against 2025 champion Swartz Creek. The teams were tied two games apiece going into the fifth and then were tied after the fifth game, prompting a roll-off.
Marshall won the roll-off by one pin, and then defeated Dearborn Divine Child 3-1 in the Semifinals.
“A heck of a run,” Marshall head coach Jim Stealy said. “Our kids bowled their tails off. They learned to bowl in pressure situations. Out of the seven girls I had here today, two of them were in a match play situation two years ago, but only one of them did any actual bowling. For all of my girls except one, bowling in a match play situation was new. They had to learn how to make pressure shots, and they haven’t had to make pressure shots like that before.
“In our first round matchup against Swartz Creek, they were struggling to do that. But then it started to click, and we kind of got through that and we were good.”
Standish-Sterling's Vallad Jumps from 47th as Junior to No. 1 in Final Match
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
JACKSON — Paige Vallad has simple goals entering the Division 3 girls singles bowling championship Saturday at JAX 60. She wanted to see improvement from last year.
Mission accomplished in a massive way.
A year after finishing 47th during the qualifying round of the Singles Finals, the Standish-Sterling senior brought home a championship, outlasting Milan junior Maggie Smith, 363-295.
“I just wanted to make the first cut,” Vallad said afterward. “I was hoping to get the top 16, which was better than I did last year, and end on a good note. I never thought I’d be here.”
Vallad helped her school to a double-dip in Jackson by winning the title a day after the boys team captured its first Finals trophy.
“It was a grind, it was hard, but it was worth it in the end,” she said.
Vallad qualified fifth after the six-game block with 1,156. Jacey Thibodeau, a Madison Heights Bishop Foley junior, blistered the lanes to lead qualifying with a total of 1,394, boosted by a closing 289 game.
Vallad ended Thibodeau’s day in the semifinals 350-322 after Thibodeau averaged 214 in her first two matches. Vallad reached the semifinals by defeating Cheboygan senior Alicia Vieau 372-318 and Grass Lake junior Marielle Schafran 409-393.
She started slowly in the championship match, opening in her first three frames. But she erased those with three strikes in a row and only opened two other frames, including the 10th frame of the second game when the result was already decided.
Vallad celebrated the victory with a tight embrace from her coach and father, Jason, who took over the program just this year.
“It’s his first year coaching, and it was awesome,” she said. “The best way to end my senior year. He was there with me through the whole moment. He kept encouraging me and was the best coach I’ve had throughout the years.”
Jason Vallad knew his daughter could hold her own in the tournament, especially considering she gains added revolutions on the ball by employing a two-handed delivery style.
“It’s pretty unbelievable,” he said. “I knew she was a good bowler, but to come down here and compete at this level, they’re all good bowlers, so I’m super proud and happy for her.”
Smith qualified as the second seed with 1,255 and was red hot during her first three matches. She defeated Boyne City senior Victoria McGeorge 404-396, Armada junior Maggie Fradle 482-374, and Livonia Clarenceville senior Caitlyn Johnson 401-364.
Her 482 total on games of 258 and 224 against Fradle was the highest two-game total of the day.
In the championship match, Smith struggled to games of 136 and 159, but her coach Linda Towler said the future is bright.
“She is great inside and out,” Fowler said. “There’s just not enough I can say about her. She’s in the bowling alley every day honing her skills. I’m just so proud of her.”