The girls bowling team left regional competition with first place for the fifth time in the last six years.

Entering as the No. 1 ranked team in the state, Kearsley had a lot to live up to in this event.

After making their way to Bay City for the MHSAA Division 2 regional team event, Friday, Feb. 23, the Hornets proved their ranking with an early lead after Baker games of 210 and 169.

They didn’t let up during their other four Baker games either, ending with a 90-pin advantage into the individuals.

Kearsley had a powerful start into the first team game with a 901 team game, which was the highest in the region for the girls teams.

After the next two games of 892 and 909, the Hornets had a first place finish with a total of 3,783, the highest girls score in the state of Michigan for all regional competitions in all divisions.

Junior Alexis Roof led the Hornets to victory with games of 203 and 200, while senior Emma Boychuk assisted with her 193 and 226 games.

Roof judged her performance harshly and said her and her team could have done better.

“Us thinking that we bowled bad, shows that our low is considered to be other teams highs,” Roof said.

Kearsley beat runner-up Croswell-Lexington by a 319 total pinfall. Escanaba also qualified for the state final by finishing third.

The regional championship moves the team into the state final, which is Friday, March 2, at the Super Bowl in Canton.