MADISON HEIGHTS — Jacey Thibodeau is in the homestretch of her high school bowling career. It has been an outstanding one, leading Madison Heights Bishop Foley to the 2024 state Division 3 championship and 2024 and 2026 Cardinal Division titles in the Catholic High School League.
Next stop this fall: Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
Jacey didn’t always like to bowl. “But I guess bowling is in our family bloodline,” she says. “Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandpa all bowled. My parents bowled in a league. My dad was a really good bowler. So, you know, we all had to go. When you're in a bowling alley together every weekend, you get to know each other. It's a really nice community with all the kids and stuff.”
When Jacey was four years old and had a hard time picking up the ball and an even harder time getting it to roll down the alley, her mother teased her: “If you come, you can have some cheese sticks.”
Her mother, Kelly Thibodeau (nee Braun; Regina ‘90), recalls Jacey “had a talent for bowling even in those early days of bumper bowling. It became something she liked to do. She was having fun.”
When she was about 7 or 8, Jacey started taking lessons at Aleta Sill's Bowling World, located inside Country Lanes in Farmington Hills, a professional bowling center run by retired champions Aleta Sill and Michelle Mullen.
“It is a privilege to work with her,” Mullen said. “Her spare shooting is excellent. No matter what your game is, you have to pick up the spares. Jacey works hard at that.”
Four years ago, in the CYO grade school championship playoffs, eighth-grader Jacey picked up a spare on the last ball for 289, a CYO record.
Now that the high school bowling season is concluded, Jacey’s attention returns to the Michigan Junior Masters Association. Founded in 1986, the association sponsors seven tournaments in the fall and six in the spring and has provided nearly $700,000 in scholarship money to nearly 500 bowlers. The prize money is handled by SMART (Scholarship Management and Account Reporting for Tenpins), a service offering a centralized location to manage bowling scholarship funds.
The spring schedule kicks off with a two-day tournament Saturday and Sunday, March 14-15, at the Richfield Bowl in Richfield. It rolls on to March 29, at the Grand Rapids Open in Wyoming; April 18 at the 5 Star Lanes in Sterling Heights; May 2 at the Grand Blanc Open; May 16-17 at the Imperial Lanes in Clinton Township; and June 12 at the Monroe Sports Center.
Jacey will have to fit in graduation Sunday, May 17, at Bishop Foley.
She has qualified for the fifth year to play in the Junior Gold Championships for the top male and female youth bowlers in the United States from July 11-18 in Minneapolis.
With the money Jacey has won in four years in Junior Masters competition, “she’ll have enough plus other scholarships to pay for her first year at Duquesne,“ Kelly says.
“There were a lot of colleges that reached out to me,” Jacey says, “but I wanted to go into speech therapy and not many colleges have that program.”
“So when we saw Duquesne had it,” Kelly says, “and bowling at the same time, we were like, ‘Oh, let's go visit them.’”
“I really loved it,” Jacey says. “I like the campus. I like the program. The bowling team, the coaches and all the girls are really nice. So, it felt right.”
The Dukes have had three NCAA championship appearances and were ranked No. 14 in the Top 25 poll for 2025, their sixth year ranked among the top 15.
Jacey’s brother, Jared, 27, has Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects development, speech, movement and mood. “Jacey told me she wants to become a speech therapist,” Kelly says, “to help people like him.”
Jacey’s sister, Jenna, 24 (Foley 2019), majored in biochemistry at Michigan State University and currently is pursuing a doctorate in cancer biology at Wayne State University.
Jacey’s parents — head coach Alan and assistant coach Kelly — mentored Bishop Foley bowlers the last two years. Their focus now turns eastward. “It’s just a four-hour ride to Duquesne,” Kelly says.
Don’t forget the cheese sticks.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
