On March 7, Chad Stephen did something no boy bowler from Kearsley has ever done — win a bowling singles state title.

Stephen said, “It was amazing, especially after winning back-to-back titles as a team.”

Four other Hornets competed in the MHSAA Division 2 singles state finals at Century Bowl in Waterford.

Of the five qualifiers, three were girls and two were boys.

The top 60 boys in the state bowled in the qualifying round and only the top 16 advanced to match play.

Senior Anthony Kelley and junior Chad Stephen both qualified for the match-play round.

Stephen bowled games of 217, 213, 224, 213, 180, and 221 to shoot a 1,286 series and qualified as the No. 5 seed.

Kelley bowled games of 213, 155, 236, 193, 215, and 162 to shoot 1,174, advancing as the No. 16 seed.

Stephen faced Drake McCarthy from South Lyon in the first round. Kelley faced Byron Center’s David Northouse.

Both Stephen and Kelley won their matches and advanced to the quarterfinals.

In the elite eight, Stephen faced Trenton’s David Owens and won by 54 pins to advance to the semifinals. Kelley faced Dan Ribbink from Muskegon Mona Shores, winning easily by 195 pins and also advancing.

Unfortunately for Kearsley, the brackets pitted each Hornet against one another.

Stephen and Kelley faced off in the semifinal, which was a close match.

“I didn’t like doing it,” Stephen said. “Him and I have been friends for a long time.”

Stephen beat Kelley 381 to 363 to advance to the final against Charlotte’s Collin Fox.

In the final, Stephen shot games of 226 and 187 for a 413 series against Fox’s 386 series.

After losing in the quarterfinals last year, Stephen worked on his spare shooting and his consistency this year so that when it came down to it, he could have an advantage over his opponents.

Since the Hornets graduate several bowlers this year, Stephen is one of two who will return to the team next year. He hopes that he can win another singles title as well as another team title.

In the girls’ singles tournament, Kearsley qualified three bowlers.

Junior Hannah Ploof qualified for the match-play round as the No. 5 seed, but her season ended in the first round after losing to Warren Regina’s Madchen Breen 393-342.

Junior Alexxa Flood finished 18th in the qualifying round, and senior Dani Doolan was 20th. Only the top 16 advanced to match play.