Excitement was high among Oxford’s bowlers last weekend. Both teams took home their respective regional titles and a number of athletes qualified to compete at the individual state championships on Feb. 22. After the wins, both teams will advance to the state championships this weekend.

The Lady Cats ultimately took on Flushing for the regional title and won by a tight 16 pins. The win marks the ladies’ third regional title and is the first since 2012. Heading into the state championships, the girls will be defending the title they won last season.

“The girls really bowled as a team,” Head Coach JR Lafnear said. “Everyone on the roster contributed and played a role in bringing this title home. This team has a great will to win and never quits.”

Of the 84 bowlers that were aiming for one of the 10 state spots, Oxford found a representative in senior Megan Armbruster. She finished second out of the 84 athletes.

To earn her spot, she bowled a cumulative score of 1,307 from six games. She averaged 217 a game.

As for the boys, they took home their program’s second regional title and the first since 2009 over the weekend. Overcoming Lapeer for the title, they won by a whopping 69 pins.

“This is a young team and (was the) first appearance at regionals for most of them,” Lafnear said. “They were strong and stayed focused all day. They really show incredible maturity and I’m very proud of their performance.”

On the individual end, three of the six boys Oxford competed will head to states as individuals. Juniors Luke Acton and Justin Powell as well as sophomore Collin Massie took three of the 10 male spots, which were beating fought for by 89 athletes. Acton finished second, Powell took fifth and Massie finished seventh.

Now looking at the state title games on March 1 and 2 in Allen Park, the Wildcats plan on keeping their eyes on the prize as they move further into the post-season.