The 19^th MHSAA Bowling Finals will be rolled this weekend, with Team Finals on Friday and Singles Finals on Saturday for four divisions at four sites.

At just under two decades, it’s still a young sport by MHSAA sponsorship standards. But years from now as we recall the early days, we will certainly look to the Flint Kearsley girls.

Their dynasty is still growing – the Hornets are returning to the Division 2 Finals this weekend after winning last season’s championship. We’ll know by Friday night if last year was the start of another winning streak to go with the six straight championships Kearsley claimed from 2014-19.

Last year’s title put Kearsley’s overall count to eight, one more than Vandercook Lake for most Team Finals wins. The Hornets also finished Division 2 runners-up in 2010.

Kearsley also has produced three MHSAA singles champions, most recently Megan Timm in 2020.

The other two names on that singles list are part of a family woven through Kearsley’s rise. Lindsay Ploof was the Hornets’ first singles champion, claiming a 24-pin victory to clinch the 2011 Division 2 Finals title. Younger sister Hannah won in 2016 by 49 pins in her championship match.

Their coaches throughout were their parents Robert and Pam; Robert served as head coach for 15 seasons until retiring after 2019-20. According to the Michigan High School Interscholastic Bowling Coaches Association, his 162 wins (with only 13 losses) are third-most for a varsity girls bowling coach in MHSAA history, and his .926 winning percentage also is among the highest on that list. He was named to the MHSIBCA Hall of Fame in 2016.

Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.

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PHOTO The Ploofs, from left: Pam, Lindsay, Robert and Hannah, after Hannah won the 2016 Division 2 singles championship. (MHSAA file photo)