The King Kekaulike High School girls bowling team leads the Maui Interscholastic League standings four weeks into the nine-week schedule.

That in itself is a story, but a closer looks shows just how improbable all of it is.

The wall at King Kekaulike gym is decorated with numerous MIL and state title plaques, but none of them are for bowling. Na Ali'i's eight-person team this season includes six seniors and two juniors, meaning this is the year that drought may end.

None of the King Kekaulike bowlers have an average in the league's top four, but Alex Riecke-Gonzales (fifth at 133.27 pins per game) leads four Na Alii who are in the top 10 — Ashley Ventimiglia (sixth at 131.56), Mikaela Lum (eighth at 129.86), and Tiana Fernandez (10th at 124.33) — are the others.

And Na Ali'i do all of this usually practicing one hour per week – from 3 to 4 p.m. on Mondays — at the crowded 10-lane Maui Bowling Center. None of them have a background that includes youth bowling, as many of the competitors from Baldwin and Maui — the usual MIL contenders — do.

King Kekaulike also has an hour of practice time on Thursdays, but the team members are usually too busy to use it.

Still, Na Ali'i (12-3) have a three-game lead over Maui and Baldwin after a 3-0 win over St. Anthony yesterday. Baldwin defeated Maui 2-1. Both Baldwin and Maui are 9-6.

"I have had the seniors since they were freshmen in my P.E. class," King Kekaulike coach Joanie Wong said to The Maui News. "I recruited them when they had never held a (bowling) ball, but they came to the girls locker room and we used a rubber ball. We were rolling it in the locker room, in the shower. Being that it is so far for us to get down here, we practice usually once, maybe twice a week at the most. My compliments to them and my respect goes out to them for hanging in there with me and the team until now. They are seniors and it is paying off.''

Riecke-Gonzalez is a two-time state qualifier in tennis. Fernandez also plays tennis. Lum, who qualified for the state bowling tournament last year as an individual, is busy playing violin in the Hawai'i Youth Symphony.

Everyone on the team — which also includes Leah Hamamura, Jenai Albete, Gianna Garrett, and Caileigh Barlow — carries a grade-point average above 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. They have Nov. 1-2 in Hilo — the dates and site for the state tournament — circled on their calendars.

"Personally, I am still a little bit skeptical, but we are hopeful,'' Riecke-Gonzales said. "We have a pretty strong team all around. I don't think any one individual is keeping us going. I think it is we have a pretty high average as a team rather than personally.''

Riecke-Gonzales has a GPA in the 4.1 range with Advanced Placement classes in biology and calculus this year after taking AP U.S. history and English last year. Everyone on the team has similar curricula, perhaps helping them to their current heights.

"It is really intimidating to be where we are at, but one of our coaches, Kris (Shibano, an assistant) says, 'You guys only bowl three months out of the year, so you should be really proud of yourselves,' '' Riecke-Gonzales said. "If we can put that first championship bowling plaque up on our gym wall, it would feel amazing. It would feel so good. I think once you get that first one up, it becomes a lot easier after that.''

Fernandez, who has a 4.2 GPA with AP calculus and psychology this year after U.S. history and English last year, said the team is close.

"I have so much fun,'' she said. "It is just a really big teamwork thing. It is not just individual.''

Wong said that it was the starters — teams use five bowlers in three games each Wednesday — who urged that little-used players get in on the action last week when Baldwin won two of three games.

Fernandez is the only Na Ali'i to have bowled all 12 games so far this season. In contrast, Baldwin has three who have bowled every game, and Maui High has four.

"I have been bowling for three years and the Baldwin and Maui High guys have been bowling since they were kids, so this feels pretty good,'' Fernandez said. "Last year we were, like, 'Oh my gosh, we will never win.' But we have improved and we want everybody to be a part of it.''

Wong, who credits Shibano and fellow assistant Phyllis Kobayashi with a big part of the team's success, says she just wants the team to enjoy the ride.

"They practiced freshman year, sophomore year, junior year, kept their grades up, 3.5 and above, two of them go to (Maui Community College) already, they are in the band, all take honors and AP classes,'' she said. "Now, they are seniors and we are just really enjoying it all.''