Allen Park Ends Carlson's Record Streak
March 4, 2017
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – The final round of a competitive cheer meet has the ability to sway emotions one way or another.
On Saturday, Round 3 proved to be the deciding factor in the end of an incredible MHSAA record-breaking run and the extreme jubilation of a team finally getting over the hump.
Allen Park delivered a stirring Round 3 performance and rallied past six-time reigning champion Gibraltar Carlson to win the Division 2 Final at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex.
The Jaguars collected their first MHSAA Final since 2010 by the slimmest of margins. They posted a score of 787.96 and knocked off the top-ranked Marauders (787.90) by six hundredths of a point.
“Every little thing counts,” an elated Allen Park coach Julie Goodwin said. “I’ve never won a meet that was this close, but I’ll take this one. Round 3 has been a great round all year, and I knew if they came out fighting we would be able to take it. I knew it would be close, but I knew our Round 3 could do it for us.”
It appeared as if Gibraltar Carlson was headed toward a seventh straight Division 2 title after grabbing a three-point lead entering the final round.
However, the Jaguars were within striking distance of their Downriver League foe and needed a clutch effort.
“Our coach told us that if we wanted this right now then we had to go out there and do what you do best,” said Allen Park’s Delaney Millner, one of six seniors on the team.
“We went out there, and I think that’s exactly what we did. I could feel their energy on the mat, and ever since I was a little kid I wanted to be on this team and it’s the most humble feeling in the world knowing that my senior year I was able to go out with a bang.”
The Jaguars finished with a score of 321.4 in Round 3, while the Marauders had a 318.4.
“Round 3 is our favorite round and we have so many different things going on,” senior Olivia Grab said. “We knew going into Round 3 that if we put everything we could on the mat then we knew we could take it home.
“We worked so hard from the beginning of the season and so many girls returned from last year when we were runner-up. We knew how hard we had to work, and we broke the streak.”
Allen Park had been knocking on the door. It finished fourth in 2015 and runner-up to Gibraltar Carlson a year ago.
“I kept telling this team that, ‘you are close, you are almost there’, and this is the one that counts,” Goodwin said. “They battled and they wanted it. It’s the hardest-working team I’ve coached, and I couldn’t be more proud.
“After Round 1 we were down and that was a bummer, but it takes three rounds. I knew our Round 2 and Round 3 could pull us through if they did what they needed to do, and they did. They’re the six-time defending champions, and they’re very good.”
Added Millner: “I knew with this team that we had the ability, we had the talent and we had the work ethic. We just had to go out there and kill it.”
It was an emotional outcome for Gibraltar Carlson, which has been a perennial powerhouse in Division 2 for almost a decade.
The Marauders, who were young this season with only one senior, had won eight titles over the last nine years, including setting a new MHSAA record for consecutive titles in any division last season.
“I thought they did great, and I’m very proud of them,” Gibraltar Carlson coach Ayrn Ziesmer said. “Round 1 we came out with a very strong lead, and we could’ve done a little better in Round 2, but we still ended up winning the round. Round 3 was great, and I couldn’t have asked anything more from them.
“Allen Park did great today. I thought today was the best I’ve ever seen them, and I’m really excited for them. They’ve had to go through watching someone else win for six years, and I really hope they enjoy this time because it definitely goes by so fast before you start preparing for another.”
Muskegon Mona Shores (778.94) placed third for its highest finish in school history, while Dearborn Divine Child (775.76) was fourth.
PHOTOS: (Top) Allen Park performs a routine during Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) Gibraltar Carlson finished second at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex.
Notre Dame Prep Accepts Challenge, Caps Undefeated Season Back on Top
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
MOUNT PLEASANT – Pontiac Notre Dame Prep has been so close, so many times over the past six years.
This year, second-year coach Jocelyn Welsh challenged her talented team to take it to the next level.
“I pushed them past their comfort zone every day in practice,” explained Welsh, who took over the Notre Dame program in 2023 after serving as an assistant at Division 1 powerhouse Rochester Adams. “Staying at your comfort zone is not going to get you any better. You have to do the things that are uncomfortable, and these girls were willing to do that.”
That chip on their shoulder proved to be the difference Saturday afternoon, as the Irish posted the best score in all three rounds to claim a decisive victory at the Division 3 Competitive Cheer Finals at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena.
Notre Dame Prep won with a three-round total of 784.22, holding off a challenge from Grosse Ile (781.62). Perennial power Richmond (778.52) placed third, and Armada (768.96) was fourth.
The victory capped an unbeaten season for the Irish, who were the favorites coming in after winning District and Regional titles.
Notre Dame is certainly one of the state’s top programs, having won five consecutive Division 3 titles from 2014 to 2018. However, the Irish have not won since that streak was snapped – finishing second four of the past six years, including the past two behind Croswell-Lexington.
“We should have won it last year, but we didn’t get it done,” said Notre Dame senior Paige Marlinga, a returning second-team all-stater. “Not winning it last year really lit a fire under us.”
Senior Leila Mains, a returning honorable mention all-state choice, said that ever since this team’s first summer practice, breaking through and ending the six-year title drought was the team’s sole focus.
“Our expectation was to get here and to win,” said Mains, one of seven seniors on the 28-athlete roster. “We finished the job today, and it feels great.”
Notre Dame has battled Richmond for supremacy in Division 3 for years, and the Blue Devils were in the mix again Saturday. One team that was not there was two-time reigning Division 3 champion Croswell-Lexington, which placed fifth in the loaded Hartland Regional on Feb. 22.
Stepping up to challenge ND this year was Grosse Ile, a historically strong cheer program which has won two Finals titles but hasn’t finished in the top two since 2010.
“When I took over the program eight years ago, my goal was to re-establish that standard of getting here and competing for the title,” said Grosse Ile coach Angie Raithel.
The Red Devils have risen to the challenge, finishing third last season and second this time – going before Notre Dame in Round 3 and putting the pressure on the favorite with an inspired final-round routine.
“We had a lot of fun choreographing a difficult Round 3,” said Raithel, whose team was led by seniors Marissa Trombley, Virginnia West, Arianna Bianchi and Avelinn Flynn. “We are working toward that top spot, but second place is awesome and we are proud to carry this trophy back to the island.”
The title was Notre Dame’s sixth overall, along with five runner-up finishes. The previous five titles all came under longtime coach Beth Campbell.
Leading the Irish back to the top this winter was senior Grace Kinkade, a returning first-team all-stater, and second team choices Gabrielle Phillips, Jenna Robin and Marlinga. Sophomore Eva Thomas was a returning honorable mention choice.
The Irish led from wire-to-wire Saturday, taking control after Round 1 and then capping the day by executing a challenging Round 3 under extreme pressure.
“We decided at the beginning of this year that we were really going to push ourselves – to be more like a Division 1 team, to be honest,” said Welsh. “We won it with an incredible Round 3, which was very difficult.
“But that’s what these girls wanted.”
PHOTOS (Top) Eventual champion Pontiac Notre Dame Prep competes during Saturday's Division 3 Final. (Middle) Grosse Ile takes the mat during its run to a runner-up finish.