Title IX at 50: Kearsley Rolls On Among Girls Bowling's Early Successes

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

March 1, 2022

The 19th MHSAA Bowling Finals will be rolled this weekend, with Team Finals on Friday and Singles Finals on Saturday for four divisions at four sites.

At just under two decades, it’s still a young sport by MHSAA sponsorship standards. But years from now as we recall the early days, we will certainly look to the Flint Kearsley girls.

Their dynasty is still growing – the Hornets are returning to the Division 2 Finals this weekend after winning last season’s championship. We’ll know by Friday night if last year was the start of another winning streak to go with the six straight championships Kearsley claimed from 2014-19.

Last year’s title put Kearsley’s overall count to eight, one more than Vandercook Lake for most Team Finals wins. The Hornets also finished Division 2 runners-up in 2010.

Kearsley also has produced three MHSAA singles champions, most recently Megan Timm in 2020.

The other two names on that singles list are part of a family woven through Kearsley’s rise. Lindsay Ploof was the Hornets’ first singles champion, claiming a 24-pin victory to clinch the 2011 Division 2 Finals title. Younger sister Hannah won in 2016 by 49 pins in her championship match.

Their coaches throughout were their parents Robert and Pam; Robert served as head coach for 15 seasons until retiring after 2019-20. According to the Michigan High School Interscholastic Bowling Coaches Association, his 162 wins (with only 13 losses) are third-most for a varsity girls bowling coach in MHSAA history, and his .926 winning percentage also is among the highest on that list. He was named to the MHSIBCA Hall of Fame in 2016.

Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.

Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights

Feb. 22: Marquette Ties Record for Swim & Dive Finals Success - Read
Feb. 15: Jaeger's 2004 Winter Run Created Lasting Connection - Read
Feb. 8: Marian's Cicerone to Finish Among All-Time Elite - Read
Feb. 1: WISL Award Honors Builders of State's Girls Sports Tradition - Read
Jan. 25: Decades Later, Edwards' Legend Continues to Grow - Read
Jan. 18: Iron Mountain Completes Championship Climb - Read
Jan. 11: Harrold's Achievement Heralds Growth of Girls Wrestling - Read
Dec. 20: Competitive Cheer Gives Michigan Plenty to Cheer About - Read
Dec. 14: 
Evelyn's Game Had Plenty of Magic - Read
Dec. 7: 
Council Term Ends, But Leinaar Leaves Lasting Impact - Read
Nov. 30: 
Basketball Season Ready to Add to Rich Tradition - Read
Nov. 23: 
Marysville Builds Winning Streak Yet to be Challenged - Read
Nov. 16: Wroubel Has Championed Girls School Sports from Their Start - Read
Nov. 9: Pioneer's Joyce Legendary in Michigan, National Swim History - Read
Nov. 2: Royal Oak's Finch Leading Way on Football Field - Read
Oct. 26: Coach Clegg Sets Championship Standard at Grand Blanc - Read
Oct. 19: Rockford Girls Set Pace, Hundreds After Have Continued to Chase - Read
Oct. 12: 
Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail - Read
Oct. 5: 
Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: 
Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: 
Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: 
Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read

PHOTO The Ploofs, from left: Pam, Lindsay, Robert and Hannah, after Hannah won the 2016 Division 2 singles championship. (MHSAA file photo)

D3 Champs Earn Teams' 1st Singles Titles

By Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com

March 7, 2020

JACKSON — Make no mistake: Logan Teubert's cool demeanor masks a competitive fire that rages within. 

Consider that when he got ahold of the bracket for the Division 3 Singles Bowling Finals at JAX 60, he had his mom fill out his name all the way to the championship.

It proved prophetic as the Jonesville junior rolled out to a 48-pin advantage in the first game of the Final and withstood a midgame rally by Capac junior Kaden Braun in the second game to win 369-349.

Teubert was the first Jonesville boy to win an individual title and the first Comet to claim one since 2011 when Lynsey Molinaro, who remains on the coaching staff, won.

“It’s awesome. I’ve been waiting for this, I finally got to do it and I did it,” Teubert said. “Today I had a rough couple games, got back in the cut and just started throwing strikes.”

Teubert shot 204 in the first game of the Final, his only open frame a missed 10-pin in the fifth after three straight strikes. He clawed his way to a 165 in the second game that included back-to-back splits in the eighth and ninth frames.

Braun struggled to find traction and had three open frames for a 156 in the first game, but pounded a four-bagger in the third through sixth frames of the second game to get Teubert’s attention. A split in the ninth thwarted the comeback, and Braun finished with 193.

Teubert appeared undaunted throughout the Finals, calmly adjusting his glasses in between shots.

“Don’t let his outward appearance fool you; he’s pretty confident,” Jonesville coach Matt Molinaro said. “He stayed focus, he stayed hungry, but he tried to let it slip away because he bowled not to lose instead of bowling to win. So then we got him regrouped, refocused and then he shut the door.”

He had a decided advantage in support, as his backers turned JAX 60 into a 60-lane version of his 12-lane home house of L&J Lanes. It also helped that Teubert has bowled at JAX 60 frequently in tournaments and for matches in the Cascades Conference.

“(The fan support was) awesome. It helps so much,” Teubert said. “The lanes were different today than any other day, but it didn’t affect my performance that much.”

Teubert qualified 10th after the six-game qualifying round with 1,201, a score boosted by games of 242 and 255. He beat Boyne City senior Jack Wicker 391-343, then dispatched Cheboygan senior Dawson Campbell 403-393 thanks to a double in the 10th of the second game for 234. In the semifinals, he turned away Hudsonville Unity Christian senior Kurtis Montsma 370-358.

Teubert praised the Jonesville coaching staff afterward.

“They’re awesome. I couldn’t get any better coaches,” he said. “They’ve made me who I am today.”

The admiration is mutual.

“He’s a phenomenal bowler and he’s worked very hard on his game, so I’m not too surprised that (he won),” Jonesville assistant coach Matt Davis said. “He’s been calling himself a state champion since the beginning of the year.”

Will he be calling himself a two-time champion after next season?

“I guess we’ll find out,” Teubert said.

On the girls side, Big Rapids senior Hope Thebo surprised herself and her coach with a Finals victory in defeating Caro senior Baylee Hutchinson 406-378.

Big Rapids coach David Nawrot said Thebo averaged about 160 in Central State Athletics Association play.

“During Regionals, she was just steadfast. Top game was 167, bottom game was 157,” Nawrot said of Thebo, who qualified for the Girls Golf Finals all four years of her high school career. “I think her golf background helps. Being in that tournament definitely helps with this.”

Thebo rolled eight strikes in the first game of the Final, including seven of the last eight shots, for a 223 opener to Hutchinson’s 155. Hutchinson answered with her own 223 that included a five-bagger, while Thebo battled some timing issues that she said were the result of the positive start in the first game.

“Coming in, I was just trying to qualify and do the best I could from there,” said Thebo, who finished with a 183 game. “After I slowed myself down, I was good.”

Thebo played basketball as a freshman, finished 42nd in the Regional two years ago and was 12th last season before claiming Big Rapids’ first individual Finals trophy.

Thebo qualified eighth with a six-game score of 1,142. Over her four matches, she cleared 200 in five of the eight games. She beat Flat Rock senior Jasmine Carroll in the opener 372-348, then defeated top seed Karissa Manifold of Hillsdale 437-401 before coming back to top Livonia Clarenceville senior Madilynn Kieling 350-328.

Click for full girls results and boys results.