Urben, Kiplinger Earn Schools' 1st Titles
March 3, 2018
By Tim Robinson
Special for Second Half
CANTON — A fast start proved to be the difference for Wayland’s Sydney Urben on Saturday.
She rolled strikes in the first four frames of her Division 2 Singles Final, and used that momentum to claim her school’s first MHSAA bowling championship.
“It gave me a lot of confidence,” she said, “because I knew Imari (Blond, of Flint Kearsley) is a really good bowler. I knew she would be tough competition. I knew I had to hang with her, and I did.”
Urben is no stranger to Finals. She was on the Wayland softball team when it won the Division 2 championship in 2015, and reached the Bowling Singles Finals the next year as a sophomore before losing to Flint Kearsley’s Hannah Ploof.
“My mindset (Saturday) was it’s my last time I’m ever going to be here,” Urben said. “(Winning the title) has been my goal since my sophomore year. I couldn’t get it done (last year). This time I gave myself a chance just by making the cut. So I might as well finish strong, you know?”
Urben won the first game 225-171, which gave her more than enough cushion as Blond won the second game 185-184.
Urben’s coaches, Sherry Miklusciak and Mike Omness, were proud both for their athlete and for their school as Wayland alums.
But they laughingly won’t take any credit for her success.
“She makes her own moves, all her own ball changes,” Miklusciak said. “She really coaches herself. We really don’t have a lot to do with her (bowling) at all. She is just amazing and powerful.”
And, Urben admitted, a little numb moments after her victory.
“It hasn’t really hit me yet,” she said. “I’m just really happy.”
Kearsley, which won its fifth consecutive team title Friday, had a chance to have an all-Kearsley final. Blond was on one side of the bracket and teammate Barbara Hawes in the other. But Urben beat Hawes by seven pins in the semifinals.
On the boys side, Alec Keplinger capped off a big week for Coldwater by winning the school’s first individual title in any sport in decades.
Keplinger, a junior, defeated Cadillac sophomore Kyle Vermilyea 431-325 in the championship match.
Keplinger also bowled Friday, when the Cardinals finished runner-up in the team meet, the best team finish in school history.
“I was here last year and made it to the top 16 and struggled after that,” Keplinger said.
That experience helped him Friday as well.
“It definitely was easier,” he said. “Not as much nerves and stuff.”
He held off Vermilyea in the first game, 199-172, then got on a roll in the second in a 232-152 victory.
“I was just staying calm in the second game, and I knew I had it,” Keplinger said. “I was just excited (afterward). I’ve been very close in many different (events), and I was super happy for my parents and my coach (Frank Demond). He’s been coaching a long time. It means a lot.”
Although Keplinger has plans to pursue a repeat title next year, he’s also looking ahead, having committed to bowl in college at Wichita State University.
In the meantime, he’ll continue to be a three-sport athlete. He plays tennis in the fall and golfs in the spring.
For now, though, he’ll savor his MHSAA Finals championship.
Click for full girls results and boys results.
County Win Has Garber Rolling for More
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 29, 2020
Dale Hofmeister knew the physical part of a big competition wouldn’t be an issue for the Essexville Garber boys bowling team.
The Dukes are talented and have had ample practice time with the lane conditions they’ll see as the meets get more important and competitive.
But with some new blood in the starting lineup this season, he wasn’t sure how they’d handle pressure.
During the Bay County Championships, the Garber assistant coach got his answer. When faced with pressure, they laughed in the face of it.
“They all really did handle themselves really well,” said Braedyn Hofmeister, Dale’s son and a junior on the team. “We weren’t really nervous. Even in the final match, we were all having fun and laughing.”
Garber won the tournament earlier this month, claiming its first Bay County title since the 2009-10 season. Now, armed with a trio of returning juniors who are backed by plenty of squad depth, the Dukes are looking to carry that momentum into the rest of the season.
“The boys, they started off slow, but I tell you what, they have a lot of talent on that team,” said Jim Tesner, head coach of the Garber boys and girls programs. “They should do well in Regionals this year.”
While Tesner is in charge of the Garber bowling program overall, he said he mainly oversees the girls team, which itself is having a successful season winning its first six dual meets and taking second in the county after losing by just 10 pins in the final match against Bay City Western.
Dale Hofmeister, the pro at Alert Lanes in Essexville, oversees the boys program, which is 6-2 on the year.
“We’ve had decent teams the last few years, but I think this year the team is a little more balanced,” Dale Hofmeister said. “It’s hard to sit somebody out. I have to sit somebody out that’s bowling good. We try to spread the games out and let them all get playing time, but any one of them can bowl good on any day.”
They certainly bowled well on the day of the county meet, as they defeated Bay City John Glenn 389-377 in the final. That day, Braedyn Hofmeister was joined by Nick Brody, Michael Carr, Logan Forbing, Zach Moore and Jonah Przepoira in the lineup.
Brody, Hofmeister and Moore are the three juniors who returned from last year’s team. The three were bowling together before they entered high school, but it wasn’t until they arrived at Garber that they took their games to another level.
“I personally didn’t really take it that serious until my freshman year in high school,” Braedyn Hofmeister said. “By the time we got into high school, I think we all knew what we could be and what we could do for Garber. Then we kind of all shot up from there.”
As sophomores, they helped the team qualify for the MHSAA Division 3 Finals for the first time since 2016. The Dukes didn’t make it out of the qualifying round, but the experience gained was invaluable.
“It helps a lot, because they want to get back there,” Dale Hofmeister said. “They’re helping the new guys out, too, because they haven’t actually been to the Regionals yet. As far as lane conditions go, we’re used to playing on the Allen pattern (used for the MHSAA postseason), so they’re going to be ready for that. It’s just the atmosphere, and I think the county championship helped with that. When they get to the elimination matches, it just gets a little bit louder, but they actually played better during the elimination rounds.”
Braedyn Hofmeister said the team knew from the first practice that it could be in for a good season. While the county championship is a big step in the right direction, he knows there’s plenty left to do.
“It’s a lot different bowling against people at (the state) level than normal high school matches,” he said. “Every shot counts.”
The Regional, to be held Feb. 28 or 29, figures to be tough. It includes a Corunna team that was third in Division 3 a year ago and runner-up the previous two seasons. The top three will qualify for the MHSAA Finals on March 6 in Jackson, and the Dukes will have the luxury of bowling at their home – Alert Lanes – in the Regional.
That, combined with the way they’re bowling, could make for a special end to the season for the Dukes. They’re certainly shooting for the ultimate prize.
“Winning (an MHSAA title),” Braedyn Hofmeister said when asked for the team’s goal. “Definitely making the cut (for the quarterfinals). After all, anything can happen at one tournament.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTO: The Essexville Garber boys bowling team celebrates its Bay County championship earlier this month. (Photo provided by the Garber bowling program.)