Seniors Chase Gebhardt and Jake Reid led the boys bowling team to its first tournament victory of the year.

The Hornets claimed first place in their own tournament called the Metro Conference Championship Tournament on Sunday, Jan. 14, at Richfield Bowl.

The competition involved teams from inside and outside of the Metro League.

During the three game qualifier, Gebhardt led the entire tournament with games of 258, 246, and 239 for a 749 series. These scores placed Gebhardt on the All-Tournament team.

In addition, Reid bowled games of 246, 225, and 184 for a 655 series.

Kearsley began the first game of the qualifying round with a 1,071, only five pins behind first place.

During the next two games, the Hornets scored 1,058, and 1,027, giving them a total of 3,183.

Assisting the Hornets was junior Kyle Langworthy with games of 206 and 200. Following Langworthy was senior Justin Todd with 213, and senior Seth Varner bowling 203.

Langworthy said the team was “really loose” going into the tournament and was pleased with the outcome.

“It’s good to start off the second half of the season coming out with a win,” Langworthy said. “I think it will lead well to the regional and state tournaments.”

The top eight teams then went into round-robin Baker style games. Kearsley earned the third spot in the final-four bracket.

The Hornets faced Genesee in the first round, winning with a 34-pin advantage. Leading the Hornets was sophomore Lawson Boshaw, who struck out in the 10th frame for a 225-191.

In the second match, Kearsley started off with a commanding lead in the first four frames. After that, the Hornets began to throw opens Genesee closed in on the Hornets.

When the anchor bowler on Genesee left a solid 9 pin, sophomore Lawson Boshaw had to pick up his spare and get six pins to get the win against the Wolves.

The Hornets beat Genesee with a score of 383-378.

In the final, Kearsley took on Bay City Western. The Hornets started the first game on fire, scoring 219-189, giving them a 30- point lead going into the second game.

During the second game, junior Nathan Maxwell started a streak that resulted in five strikes, which gave Kearsley 223-165 score for the match.

This propelled the Hornets into first place with a 442-354 match victory, their first tournament win this season.