ALLEN PARK, Mich. – The Oxford girls varsity bowling teams competed in the Division 1 state finals on March 1-2, with the girls team making it to the final four.
Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park Michigan hosted the Division 1 state bowling finals, with 56 individual bowlers and 16 teams attempting to bring home a state title.
The Oxford girls would be looking for a second title, while Wildcats Eli Wright and Kiley Penzien would be rolling for a singles title. It was five years ago this season that Wildcat graduate Megan Armbruster brought home the only other singles title in program history, said head coach Jr Lafnear.
“This was a monumental weekend for our program. We showcased some young talent and we were very competitive all weekend. The bowlers battled and really did a nice job despite the pressure. The experience here is awesome and I really thought they handled it well,” Lafnear said.
The team event on Friday consisted of eight baker games and two regular team games in the qualifying round. The top eight teams would bowl a best of five baker match to advance until a champion would be crowned.
The Oxford girls first four baker games kept them above the cut line but the last four baker games of 181, 207, 220,219 bolted the Wildcats into second place. The girls then bowled solid team games of 789 and 795 to earn the sixth seed for the championship round.
In the championship round the Wildcats faced off against a familiar foe, Macomb Dakota High School.
The Wildcats defeated the Cougars in the finals five years ago and Friday won again on Friday, beating the powerful Dakota team in three straight games, 171-143, 152-142 and 138-134, Lafnear said.  
The victory advanced the Wildcats into the final four semifinal match against South Lyon. After a close three games, the South Lyon team ended the Wildcats state championship run, defeating the Oxford girls 133-118, 158-153 and 159-148.
Individual results
Eli and Kiley competed on Saturday in day two of the state championship in the six-game qualifying session.
Kiley stayed in the hunt for four games before a couple bad breaks ended her run. Eli, one of only three freshmen to even qualify, just never got lined up on the brutal Phantom 2 oil pattern, Lafnear said.
“Both Wildcats gave it their all until the final shot and were great representatives of the Oxford Bowling program,” Lafnear said.