Marshall girls bowling reflects on historic state runner-up season
· Yahoo Sports
MARSHALL - The Marshall girls bowling team had its best season ever. And the Redhawks are still celebrating.
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With a little bit of time since Marshall finished its historic season, the girls bowling team has been able to reflect on what they just experienced.
"It's incredible. It's been really neat to watch the girls enjoy the moment," said Marshall bowling coach Jim Stealy. "They have absolutely earned the accolades they are getting. Getting recognized around town, in bowling circles. It's been very special. They are proud of themselves and they should be."
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Marshall finished as a state runner-up in the recent Michigan High School Athletic Association girls high school state bowling championships. The Redhawks advanced to the finals as Marshall finished second in the state after a loss to Flint Kearsley the championship round. Marshall had never advanced past the state quarterfinals before in the history of the program.
"The fact that we got to the the state tournament was a pretty good accomplishment in itself. We had three losses in the conference early in the season and finished third in our conference. But, going into regionals, we thought we had a chance because we were bowling well," Stealy said. "We ended up being one pin shy of winning regionals, so we thought we could compete at states at that point and went in just trying to put our best foot forward and seeing what happened."
In the end, the Marshall girls finished as state runner-up as a team in the Division 2 championships in Waterford. Marshall lost to Flint Kearsley in the state championship match.
The Redhawks had advanced to the semifinals by the narrowest of margins against 2025 champion Swartz Creek. The teams were tied two games apiece going into the fifth and then were tied after the fifth game, prompting a roll-off. Marshall won the roll-off by one pin, and then defeated Dearborn Divine Child 3-1 in the semifinals. The Redhawks qualified for the finals bracket with at team score of 2,914.
Marshall's Summer Stone also qualified as an individual by taking 10th. Stone earned all-state honors for the second year in a row.
Stone was joined on the state runner-up team by Marshall's Olivia Stone, Dalila Fields, Delilah Creighton, Kiera London, Olivia Mulkey and Caelan Chapman.
"Getting to the finals, they accomplished something great," Stealy said. "I told them, going into the final match, they had already earned a banner that will go up in the gym, win or lose. And, that banner would be up there 40 years later whenever they come back to visit."
Bill Broderick can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X/Twitter: @billbroderick
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Marshall finishes runner-up in MHSAA state bowling championships