CLASS 4A GIRLS BOWLERS TO WATCH IN 2026
 

MADISON BUSBY, EL DORADO
 
Busby’s season-best 509 series earned her a ninth-place finish at the Class 4-1A state tournament last March. Busby, now a senior, tied Cheney’s Kylee Trego and Hayden’s Ashley Lee, winning the tiebreaker with a season-high 201 in the middle game of her series. It was Busby’s best series since last year’s season opener, when she rolled a 497. Busby had the high series in each of El Dorado’s first three meets. Busby, part of an all-underclassmen Wildcat roster last season, finished 10^th at regionals to advance as El Dorado’s lone state qualifier.
 

 
BILLIE JO CHAFIN, ANDALE
 
Chaffin earned All-Class 4-1A second-team honors for the second straight year and earned her first individual state medal, rolling a 491 series to finish 18^th last March. That helped Andale earn its first state girls bowling title after the Indians finished fifth in 2024. Chaffin’s runner-up finish at the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail III-IV meet and sixth-place finish at regionals boosted the Indians to team titles in those meets as well. Chaffin posted a 157 average, third among Andale’s state lineup that featured six juniors a year ago. As a sophomore, Chaffin finished fifth at regionals to lead Andale to a runner-up team finish and a spot in the inaugural 4-1A state meet, where she finished 26^th.
 

 
LOVIE COSBY, CHANUTE

Cosby burst onto the high school bowling scene during the 2024-25 season as she rolled a 628 at the state meet to earn a state championship in her freshman year. Cosby recorded a 225 and 234 in her first two games at state that propelled her to a 31-pin victory over Ottawa’s Kathy Gillett. Her 234 was her high game for the season, while the 628 was also her high series as Cosby also played a big role in the Blue Comets’ state runner-up performance as well. Chanute had a pinfall total of 2,707, which was 79 pins behind state champion Andale. However, the Blue Comets will have to replace three seniors off of last season’s state team, including a pair of state medalists in Mattison Morgan (12th) and Emily Cunningham (15th).  
 

BELLA CUNNINGHAM, WICHITA CENTRAL CHRISTIAN
 
Cunningham followed up a 2024 state championship season with a solid junior campaign for the Lions, finishing eighth in her Class 4-1A title defense and helping Central Christian to a fourth-place team finish at state. Cunningham led all 4-1A bowlers with a 181 average. She matched her winning score from state two years ago with a season-best 609 series last January in a triangular victory. A two-time, All-4-1A first-team selection, Cunningham also posted two 608 series, the latter coming in a runner-up finish at regionals. Cunningham rolled a 514 series at state to finish in the top-10 along with classmate Kara Hornbaker, who finished fifth.
 

AUBREY EWING, BUHLER
 
Ewing, a senior, has been part of Buhler’s last two trips to the state tournament, including the Crusaders’ Class 4-1A championship team in 2024. She joined teammate Macy Miller as a top-20 individual medalist in 4-1A last season, finishing 17^th with a 494 series. Ewing posted a 152 average a year ago with a season-best 507 series in mid-January. Her high game, a 182, came in her final tenpin qualifying game of the season at state. Ewing finished 52^nd in her state debut as a sophomore.
 

KATHY GILLETT, OTTAWA

It didn’t take long for Gillett to adapt to the sport of bowling. Already a state medalist in golf, Gillett took to the lanes for the Cyclones for the first time last season as a junior and came away with a state medal. She racked up a score of 597 at the Class 4-1A state meet and finished as the state runner-up as a one-handed bowler. Since the end of last season, Gillett has made the transition to the two-hand delivery style for her final season with Ottawa as she tries to top Chanute’s Lovie Cosby, who is the defending state champion. Gillett started off last season in style as she tallied a 645 high series in her season opener at Olathe Lanes East and had a high game of 252 at Royal Crest in her next meet. 
 

KENDRA GRESHAM, AUGUSTA
 
Gresham, a senior, built momentum for last year’s Class 4-1A state tournament by winning the Clearwater regional with a 581 series, topping eventual state champion Lovie Cosby of Chanute by 46 pins. Gresham also led the Orioles to a runner-up team finish at regionals and seventh place at state. Her 502 series in her second state appearance earned 13^th place and produced Gresham’s first state medal. Gresham raised her average 28 pins over the second half of the season to finish with a team-leading 148. She was one of two Augusta state qualifiers as a sophomore, finishing 41^st with a 413 series.
 

KARA HORNBAKER, WICHITA CENTRAL CHRISTIAN
 
Hornbaker, a senior, improved her game last season and gave the Lions an effective No. 2 – and sometimes No. 1 – scorer. She led Central Christian with a fifth-place individual finish at the Class 4-1A state meet, improving on her 23^rd-place showing as a sophomore. That helped the Lions follow up a second-place team finish in 4-1A in 2024 with a fourth-place effort last year. Hornbaker, whose 172 average was second on the team to classmate Bella Cunningham, rolled a season-best 590 series in the Lions’ season opener. Her 234 opening game in a midseason 528 series was a team-best last winter. Hornbaker earned All-4-1A second-team honors. 
 

MACY MILLER, BUHLER
 
Miller led Buhler to a third-place team finish last year in Class 4-1A, taking sixth individually with her 533 series. A 217 second game in tenpin qualifying put the Hutchinson regional champion in contention for a high finish. Miller, now a junior, finished with a 174 for her high series of the season. She also led Buhler to the regional title with a 508 series. Miller earned All-4-1A second-team recognition after finishing the season with a 159 average. She is one of three returning Crusaders from last year’s state team, joining seniors Aubrey Ewing and Cheyann Geesling.
 

KINSLEY NEELY, ANDALE
 
Neely’s steady improvement through the second half of her junior season helped Andale win league and regional titles before the Indians collected their first girls state title in Class 4-1A. Neely raised her season game average in each of the Indians’ last five meets, finishing with a 152. During that stretch, she posted her lone 200-plus game of the season, a 217, and later followed with a season-best 510 series that earned her an eighth-place finish at regionals. Neely took 15^th in her second state appearance with a 494 series and helped Andale post a 79-pin victory over Chanute in the team competition. Neely was 50^th in her state debut as a sophomore.
 

 
RILEY STOLL, ANDALE

Stoll, All-Class 4-1A first-team selection last season, is back as one of the leaders of Andale’s reigning state championship team after finishing seventh individually. The senior paced the Indians with a 170 average last season and posted the high series in four of Andale’s 10 meets, including its home regional, which she won with a season-best 615 series. Stoll sandwiched that between a sixth-place finish at the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail III-IV meet and the individual-medal performance in her state appearance. As a sophomore, Stoll missed a 4-1A individual medal by one pin, finishing 21^st with a 466 series.
 

KIRAH TASKINEN, SMOKY VALLEY
 
Taskinen completed her first high school bowling season with a 20^th-place finish in Class 4-1A as the Vikings’ lone state qualifier. She used a 180 final game to vault into an individual medal position, finishing with a 489 series. Taskinen advanced to state with a 449 series and fourth-place finish at the Hutchinson regional.
 

CALEE WALTERS, ANDALE
 
Walters capped a solid junior season with a third-place individual finish in Class 4-1A, leading the Indians to their first state team title. Her 579 series also gave Walters her first individual state medal after she finished 24^th at state two years ago. Walters’ 165 average last season ranked second on the team to classmate Riley Stoll. Walters rolled a season-best 589 series to win a dual meet against Cheney. She had a high game of 216 in a third-place regional finish, helping Andale capture the team title. Walters, who joined Stoll on the All-4-1A first team, is one of three returning state medalists for Andale.