The boys’ bowling team took first place in the MHSAA regional on Saturday, Feb. 27.

The Hornets came in confident, as they had taken the previous two regional championships.

Senior Chad Stephen, who led the team to the state championship last season, had the team high with 639 pins.

The top three team pinfalls were 4,266 for Kearsley, 4,156 for Lansing Eastern, and 4,029 for Owosso. All three teams now advance to the Division 2 state final.

The Hornets are no strangers to the final, as they have made the tournament every year since 2012.

The team started off well with Baker games of 202, 202, and 172. This put them in second place early, 35 pins behind Lansing Eastern.

The second trio of Baker games also went well at 205, 200, and 192. Lansing Eastern dominated Bakers and led by 105 pins heading into individual games.

Through the first two individual games, the teams were neck and neck after Kearsley turned in performances of 982 and 1,012 pins.

Going into the last game of the tournament, the Hornets were still down 108 pins to the Quakers.

The Hornets rallied behind Stephen’s 257, the second highest game score from the entire tournament, and mounted a 208-pin comeback in the last game to take first place.

Kearsley has won the top slot at the state finals the past two years in boys’ and girls’ bowling, and the teams each hope to bring back another state championship.

The Division 2 team state final kicks off at 8 a.m. Friday, March 4.