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.”
Brighton's Campbell On a Roll
February 6, 2012
Marissa Campbell had plans to become an incredible volleyball player.
But that was just the start of Campbell’s journey toward becoming one of Michigan’s top high school bowlers.
Campbell played basketball and soccer, swam and did gymnastics growing up before settling on volleyball as her sport of choice entering high school. She tried out for Brighton’s freshman team that first fall – but was cut.
“My mom said try bowling. I thought it would just be something fun,” Campbell said. “I loved it. I could never imagine just stopping.”
That won’t be a problem over at least the next four years. Despite starting in the sport basically from scratch as a freshman, Campbell has become the top bowler for one of the state’s top teams – and earned a scholarship with Alabama A&M, NCAA national runner-up as recently as 2006. She's earned one of this week's MHSAA High 5s with her performances this season.
Campbell is averaging 197 pins per game this season, and the Bulldogs are ranked No. 10 in Division 1 with Regionals three weeks away. Her high game of 268 this winter is tied for ninth on the statewide list compiled by the Michigan High School Interscholastic Bowling Coaches Association. Her high series of 470 is tied for 20th on the MHSIBCA’s list.
Solid numbers, obviously. But absolutely incredible considering her starting point.
To clarify, Campbell didn’t come into high school bowling having never rolled a ball. She’d bowled in a couple leagues during middle school – but with little training, breaking 100 was a highlight.
“It was kinda a little bit out of nowhere, her jumping into the sport freshman year,” Brighton coach Shawn Kind said.
But he also saw something more.
“Obviously, I recognized the passion right away. Just how much she really liked the sport right off the bat, how willing she was (to work),” Kind added. “I actually told her parents some time during her freshman year, you’ll think I’m crazy, but if she continues with this passion and work ethic, she has a chance at a scholarship."
“And I was like, ‘Are you serious?’” Campbell countered.
Her average jumped into the 130s by the end of that first season. She pushed it into the 170s as a sophomore and became a consistent part of the lineup as Brighton fell just short of advancing to the MHSAA Finals. And last season, her average rose to 198.
That’s when she really started to get it, understand differences in lanes and oil patterns, and started making more friends not just on her team but others.
Kind, who will step down after 10 seasons next month, has had his share of talented bowlers come through the program. He’s most impressed with Campbell’s spare game and especially her mental fortitude and ability to hang in tough situations.
He expects that to show through later this month. Campbell has some MHSAA Finals experience, with Brighton as a team in 2011 and as an individual in 2010. Kind expects another strong finish, with a push for a berth in Finals match play the first weekend of March at Battle Creek’s M-66 Bowl.
“I honestly think it’s just been the support from friends and family, and just listening to my coach. Even though I was skeptical, I believed in him,” Campbell said. “It’s hard for me. I feel sometimes, when I’m not doing as good, I feel bad about myself and almost put myself down because everyone else is so good. I wish I’d started when I was 5 years old.
“But then I look at the times when I do do good, and I’m thankful to be where I am after just a few years.”
PHOTO courtesy of Shi Lessner Photography.