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.”
Powers Freshman, Clarenceville Junior Find Winning Shots
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 27, 2021
JACKSON – Elizabeth Teuber’s first MHSAA Singles Finals seemed similar to a lot of tournaments she’s bowled over the years.
But the next generation of one of Flint’s best-known bowling families set herself up Saturday for some intriguing opportunities at the high school level over the next three seasons.
The Powers Catholic freshman – whose grandfather was a state Hall of Famer in the sport and whose family co-owns a bowling center – finished her first Chargers season with a dominating run to the Division 3 championship at JAX 60.
After qualifying for match play as the second seed, Teuber won her first three matches by 75, 65 and 139 pins before defeating Corunna senior Bridget Ryon 418-366 in the final. After rolling two games of 200 or more across the six-game qualifying block, Teuber topped 200 in six of eight match play games with a high of 233.
“I didn’t think I was really going to do this good. The first game I struggled, but after that I found my shot and it was easier,” Teuber said. “I bowl a lot. I bowl three or four days a week, and when I do, I practice – I don’t try to bowl for score. I try to get better, and so I think that’s what helped.”
Livonia Clarenceville junior Jacob Johnson still has a season to go, but added a crowning achievement as well to his first three already full of highlights.
Johnson has been on a tear over the last eight days – on March 20, he won his second Regional singles title (to go with his first as a freshman) with the highest score of any bowler at any Division 3 tournament that day. On Saturday, he averaged 221 in qualifying to finish first in the block at Jax 60, then 206 in match play capped with a 396-373 win over Belding junior Trenton Altman in the final.
Johnson’s first two trips to the Finals had ended with an upset loss in the first round of match play as a freshman when he was seeded second, and then in qualifying last season.
“I’ve been trying to find a look. Our home house is really tough and I couldn’t really find a look, so I just kept drilling bowling balls and drilling bowling balls over and over again to find what works,” Johnson said. “I finally found three or four balls that worked. After yesterday we bowled our team event, finished seventh, I brought a ball in from the car, changed one out before today, and it really paid off.
“I thank my dad. He left to bowl a state tournament, and I had one job today – to win, and I finally did it. It took a couple of years, and I finally did it.”
Teuber had finished second in qualifying to Flat Rock senior Alyssa Kmiotek, who was two pins better at 1,150, while Hillsdale senior Karissa Maniford was third at 1,145 and Ryon fourth at 1,130 after she closed with a 213 game.
Ryon won her first two matches by 26 and 24 pins before rolling a 206 and 214 in a 112-pin semifinal win.
Johnson won his first two matches by 61 and 83 pins, but had to fend off Boyne City senior Michael Deming in the semifinal, 407-403. Altman, meanwhile, had qualified sixth and won his first matches by 79, 134 and 45 pins before running into Johnson. Altman won their second game 194-190, but Johnson’s 206-179 margin in the first made the difference. Altman rolled games of 255 and 265 during his run.