The boys’ bowling team claimed its second regional championship at the Capitol Bowl in Owosso on Feb. 27.

The Hornets defended their title at the MHSAA Division 2 regional from last year, after finishing as the runners-up in 2013.

The boys’ championship day was made even more exciting because the girls’ bowling team also won its regional.

Mr. Paul Gaudard, athletics director, said he is proud of how well the bowling teams have performed.

“It’s another great accomplishment for our bowling programs.  They continue to establish themselves as two of the premier programs in the state,” Mr. Paul Gaudard, athletics director, said. “I think the success of this year’s teams further contributes to the tradition that the bowling team is quickly establishing. ”

The Hornets got off to a rocky start, bowling 171 and 159 for their first baker games. They picked up the pace in their last four baker games shooting 217, 243, 203, and 161 for a grand total of 1,154.

After the baker games, the boys were in second place, being only 27 pins behind Owosso, which had a total of 1,181.

The Hornets started out their first individual game shooting a 965 game. This was the high game of the day, which jumped the Hornets to first place by 108 pins.

The second individual game proved just as helpful to the Hornets when they shot a 905 game and extended their lead to 183 pins.

Going into the last game, the Hornets felt confident in their lead, but they did not let up. The Hornets shot a 947 game for a grand total of 3,971.

Kearsley took first place over Owosso, which shot a total of 3,659.

The Hornets are competing today, defending their state title they won last year, at Century Lanes in Waterford.

The boys bowled on Feb. 28 in singles competition and had a fair showing.

The first game started out with some big scores that included games such as 227 from senior Ben Roof, a 226 from senior KC O’Brien, a 206 from junior Chad Stephen, and a 200 from senior Anthony Kelley.

As the day progressed, the shots got tougher and scores dropped.

After game five, there were three Hornets in the top 10. Stephen was sitting two pins behind first place, Kelley was sitting in fourth, and Roof was sitting in 10th. Roof was 40 pins behind ninth place and only 11 pins ahead of the 12th spot.

During the last game, Stephen shot a 172, Kelley shot a 166, and Roof shot a 180. Roof was knocked out of the top 10 and finished 11th, being 22 pins behind 10th.

Stephen finished third and Kelley finished seventh, which was good enough for both of them to advance to the individual state final on March 7.

The state finals will be bowled on the Middle Road oil pattern, the same pattern the regional competition used.

The boys’ and girls’ teams have worked hard to prepare to bowl on this pattern.

“I think it really speaks to the effort that the members of both teams have put forth to get to this point,” Gaudard said. “I know lots of people see the headlines when our teams win, but few see the hard work that they are putting in behind the scenes to be successful.”