The reputation of the Thomas Jefferson girls bowling program is spreading — fast.

Joseph Townsend took over the program in 2014. In his first season, the Raiders went 8-10, and bowling appeared a floundering sport at Jefferson. Last year, however, Townsend’s bunch went 11-1.

This year, behind senior captains Cassie Lee and Kaitlyn Larimore, the Raiders wrapped up a 15-0 regular season with a 3,122-3,102 victory over South Kitsap, Jan. 28, at Secoma Lanes to win the 4A district girls bowling championship.

Lee’s younger sister Whitney was the Raiders’ top individual bowler with a score of 547. Jefferson moves on to the first round of the state tournament Friday at Narrows Plaza.

“I still think that at some point we’re going to fall somewhere against somebody and lose,” Townsend said about the Raiders’ undefeated streak. “I wouldn’t have played [the season] that way.

“I set up some tough non-league matches, top competition, so that they would stumble. Unfortunately, they ruined my experiment and kept winning. They’ve figured it out so far.”

So has everyone else on the Jefferson campus.

As the Raiders won their seventh consecutive win of the season, a 5-0 win over district rival Federal Way, Dec. 8, the word began to spread.

First, it started with students and staff around campus. Then the whispers made their way to Jefferson bowlers.

Whitney Lee was the first to be approached about the win streak.

“A random student here walked up to my sister and said, ‘The girls bowling team is the only good team at TJ right now,’” Cassie Lee said laughing. “I guess it shows you some people are paying attention.”

Getting noticed and respect was something Jefferson had to earn, and it learned the hard way.

Larimore and Townsend vividly remember the Raiders’ game against Bethel on Dec. 3, 2015, when it beat Jefferson 4-1.

The senior captains and their coach have no problem with the loss, but they remember the gloating and smack talk the Braves provided en route to winning.

Townsend said he even confronted Bethel coach Brandon Cain about his team’s brash demeanor.

“I felt that behavior was improper,” Townsend said.

This year was different, though. In the final game of the season, the Raiders dominated the Braves in a 4-1 win, beating Bethel by 200 pins, bowling a combined team score of 980.

“We bowled lights out in our game against them [this year],” Townsend said. “It was dead silent over there. You could hear a pin drop, and I think that was the moment I took a step back and said these ladies surpass anything thrown at them.”

Cain was forced to take a step back, too.

“He was definitely surprised,” Larimore said. “He walked up to each one of us and actually congratulated us. Honestly, it was really unexpected.”

Jefferson bowling now has a reputation to uphold. Bowling is business.

The Raiders are 26-1 in the regular season since their losing season two years ago. They are going to face other teams in the state tournament who also treat bowling like business.

With that pride and a reputation to uphold, however, for Jefferson bowling, the idea of the state tournament is just like any other day at the alley.

“It’s just another day, just another practice,” Larimore said. “Do what you know and just keep going.”