Milan Girls Strike Early, Sweep Bracket to Clinch Historic Championship
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
February 27, 2026
JACKSON — An eerie quiet had descended over Jax 60 when Kenleigh Vandergrift stepped onto the approach in the ninth frame.
The sophomore bowler from Milan High School walked toward the foul line, released her ball and broke the silence by yelling, “Yes!” before her ball had touched any pins.
Her ball answered by knocking all 10 pins down, and when senior Maggie Smith followed with two strikes of her own in the 10th frame, the Division 3 Finals trophy was heading east to Milan.
The Big Reds went unbeaten during match play, including a sweep of Ishpeming Westwood in the championship, to claim the school’s first Finals trophy in girls bowling after nearly winning the championship two years ago.
“It means so much,” Smith said. “Me and my girls have been working hard at practices, working on spares and quality shots, and it paid off.”
It was Milan’s day from the start as the Big Reds claimed the top seed after shooting 2,974 for the eight Baker and two regular games and winning nine straight Baker games, all by double figures, to emerge as champions.
Coach Adam Gilles said the team’s biggest hurdle was the Semifinal against Grass Lake — ranked No. 1 by the Michigan High School Interscholastic Bowling Association. The Warriors qualified fourth and beat Madison Heights Bishop Foley in the Quarterfinals in three straight.
Milan won the three games against Grass Lake 152-139, 163-153 and 181-115.
Westwood, meanwhile, qualified sixth with 2,766 and had to grind through two five-game matches against Flat Rock and Armada to reach the championship.
“To go 3-0 and not lose the whole way, that’s really difficult to do,” Gilles said. “Westwood went five games and five games, and that’s a lot of bowling. They get tired. Our girls stayed warm, stayed loose, had fun. You’re just bowling with your friends like we’re at Station 300. Just have a good time, and we’ll win.”
Milan entered the season having lost several bowlers from last year’s team, but Gilles and coach Linda Towler, who is in her fifth year at Milan, knew their goal was to build a team around Smith.
Enter sophomore Brooklyn Hildebrandt and senior Teresa Tomaszewski, who with Vandergrift, Smith, sophomore Ashley Ruetter and junior Savannah Michilak provided a solid foundation.
“When you have an anchor bowler like Maggie, the goal is to try to put the best team around her,” said Gilles, in his third year at Milan. “The new girls, Brooke and Teresa, they listened and they’re coachable, they’re sweet, they want to be part of the team. The girls took to them.”
Two years ago in the Finals, Milan lost a five-game heartbreaker to Madison Heights Bishop Foley. Smith said she carried forward into this season a lesson from that experience.
“I need to not give myself so much pressure,” she said. “We’re a team. We’re all in this together. Breathe through every shot, make my spares, if I get a split, get pin count.”
Westwood finished runner-up three years ago to Flint Powers Catholic. Coach Barrie Rae, in his 16th season, said he was proud of his team, which loses seniors Averie Vial, Olivia Letson and Isabelle Moebius but returns juniors Fara Bjork, Hailey Smail and Julianne Yohe.
“They started out a little slow, they knew it and they picked it up when they needed to,” Rae said. “When it came to match play, they did what they had to do. They bowled as a team. When one girl was bowling bad, the other four picked her up and that happened all day long.”
Smith and Vandergrift both qualified for the Singles tournament with Smith, who has committed to Spring Arbor University for next year and will be returning after finishing second last year and reaching the Quarterfinals two years ago.
“My goal is to make it to match play and whatever happens, happens,” Smith said. “I’ll always learn. If I lose, if I win, I always look at something to learn and build off that.”
High 5s - 2/7/12
February 6, 2012
Have a suggestion for a future High 5? Please offer your suggestions by e-mail to [email protected]. Candidates often will have accomplished great things on the field of play -- but also will be recognized for other less obvious contributions to their teams, schools or the mission of high school athletics as a whole. We also will honor one team each week.
Marissa Campbell
Brighton senior
Bowling
Campbell has posted some of the state’s top scores this season according to the Michigan High School Interscholastic Bowling Coaches Association. Her high game of 268 is tied for ninth this season, and her high series of 470 is tied for 20th. She’s averaging 197 pins per game and rolled a two-game 429 last week.
“I think so far I’ve done good. I’ve definitely had some off days, but lately I’m bowling well."
Up next: Campbell has signed to bowl next season with Alabama A&M. She plans to major in biology and minor in psychology. “I’m not really sure what I’ll do yet. But I really like forensics, like CSI. I could be a lab technician.”
My goal this season: "I want to average 200, at least. My high game this year is 268, and I want to (bowl) last year’s, 279. My dream goal is winning states."
My career highlight: "Number one on my list is when I got my high game of 279 when I was a junior. Another was when I made states sophomore year, which was really big because I was only a sophomore. Last year, I missed the state cut by 10 pins.”
I learned the most about bowling from: "My high school coach, Coach (Shawn) Kind, has taught me the most about bowling, as he was my first teacher. Coach Kind is an awesome coach and never yells at his players, but expects a lot out of us because he knows what we are capable of. In the process of teaching me the technical aspects of the game, I grew a passion for bowling. I can’t imagine my life without it.”
I look up to: “My coaches. My high school coach, Coach Kind, and my person coach Lou Marquez. I look up to them because I trust they only want the best for me, and they believe in me. They know my potential, and always push me to be a better bowler.”
Tim Lambert
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern senior
Wrestling
Lambert recently won the 200th match of his career, and now stands at 46-0 this season and 224-5 for his career. He won 61 as a junior and 62 as a sophomore, and sits atop the MHSAA record book with 124 three-point near falls totaled last season. He is seeking to win his first MHSAA championship. He finished Division 2 runner-up at 112 pounds as a sophomore. He’s wrestling at 125 this winter.
Up next: Lambert has signed to wrestle at Nebraska. He is undecided on what he will study. “I have a wide variety of interests though such as business, marketing, fisheries and wildlife, and sports recreation, etc. (I want to be) a good husband and father, and a successful man in whatever I choose to pursue.”
I learned the most about wrestling from: "I’d say learning a lot from my brother and father has influenced my skills. Training at the Olympic Training Center made a huge impact to my wrestling. I have had many coaches throughout my career and outside of high school that have made a big impact in my wrestling success. Craig Shutich and Ernie Gillem are personal coaches that have made major impacts in my success.
I love most about wrestling: “The challenge and the grind. I love being able to train all year mentally and physically to then step out on the mat and be able to see who the best wrestler is without any other variables.”
My pre-match routine is: "I like warming up early and getting a really good sweat or workout in. That way, I am not going into the match with muscles that are tight and not warmed up. And before finals matches I retie my shoes to make them tight, and it kind of refocuses me."
I look up to: "My whole family gives me inspiration and has supported me, and I look up to them. Also, great wrestlers like Jordan Burroughs give me inspiration."
Other sports: "Right now, I don't play any other sports, and I participate in wrestling for most of the year – although I enjoy playing all other sports like basketball, football, and my personal favorite, ultimate Frisbee."
Grand Ledge Gymnastics
The Comets pushed their four-year-plus winning streak to 69 straight meets and became favorites again to win the MHSAA team championship next month by claiming the Canton Invitational title with a score of 146.8, less than a tenth of a point better than runner-up Canton. The meet featured nine teams from last season's MHSAA Team Final, including the top five placers.
"We were behind after two events, and we're not used to that," Grand Ledge coach Duane Haring said. "When (we) came back to beam, the last event again, they went five for five. There aren't that many teams that can do that. We're one that can, thank goodness."
Grand Ledge's highlight easily was a 10.0 score by senior Christine Wilson on bars. Haring has been told its the first 10.0 in Michigan high school history, although he's continuing to investigate to find out if that is so. Wilson finished second all-around in Division 1, and teammate Lauren Clark won the Division 2 all-around competition.
"They just showed me so much drive and determination Saturday," Haring said. "It was incredible."