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.
Back on Top in Downriver Rivalry, Carlson Claims 1st Finals Title Since 2019
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 3, 2023
MOUNT PLEASANT – It was Gibraltar Carlson’s turn to triumph in what has become one of the state’s most intense high school rivalries.
The Marauders seized control of Friday’s Division 2 Competitive Cheer Final from the start, then held off a valiant push from archival Allen Park to win the 12th cheer state championship in school history at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant.
“We came in with the mindset of winning,” said Carlson senior Kaitlynn Demers. “We do these things in practice until they are perfect, so that we can bring them out here on the mat.”
Carlson and Allen Park were both more than eight points ahead of the field after two rounds, then distanced themselves even further by nailing their challenging Round 3 routines.
Carlson won the meet at 789.54, a little over a half-point better than Allen Park (788.86). Dearborn Divine Child (774.96) took third, followed by Bay City Western (767.94) and Middleville Thornapple Kellogg (762.28).
“Both teams are truly incredible,” said second-year Carlson coach Alyssa Tocco, who, ironically, is a 2016 graduate and former cheerleader at Allen Park.
“When you beat Allen Park, you’ve done something special. This is going to take a while to sink in, but right now I feel nothing but pride and love for my girls.”
Either Allen Park or Carlson have now won the past 16 D2 cheer titles. The last time a school other than those two won it was Holland Christian in 2007.
That competition has pushed both to greater heights of precision in the earlier rounds and more demanding routines in the critical Round 3.
Unlike earlier in the day, when unheralded Croswell-Lexington snuck in-between powers Richmond and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep for an improbable Division 3 title, Allen Park and Gibraltar Carlson quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the field – making it a two-team race coming down the stretch in the final round.
Allen Park went fifth in Round 3 and absolutely nailed it, putting even more pressure on Carlson, which followed AP onto the mat in the sixth position.
“We had a great day,” said 17th-year Allen Park coach Julie Goodwin, whose team was shooting for a fourth-straight title. “I couldn’t have asked for a better three rounds from the girls. We did everything we needed to do.”
Indeed, it was certainly not a case of Allen Park losing it, but rather of Carlson coming out and winning it.
Taking the mat immediately after the Jaguars’ powerhouse Round 3 performance, the Marauders did even better, gaining an extra point in the final round (320.60-319.60). Carlson’s biggest edge, however, was in the first round, when it bolted to a significant 1.7-point lead.
“We were ready and focused from the start,” said Tocco. “Never count out Round 1. We work on it constantly, and that made a difference today.”
The Marauders were led this winter by an outstanding senior class, which included Demers, a returning first-team all-stater, and second-team honorees Tiaira Michalik, Ellen Szucs and Emilee Bain. Senior Ciana Caliguire and junior Mya Oikarinen were returning honorable mention choices.
Allen Park, which finished second behind Carlson in the Downriver League, turned the tables and edged the Marauders at Regionals by two-hundredths of a point.
The Jaguars had a veteran team this year as well, with 11 seniors and 11 juniors on the 27-athlete roster. Among the team leaders were senior returning first-team all-staters Kristina Beste, Alyssa Rios and Madisyn Setser and senior second-team all-state choices Aleia Breckenridge and Emma Buffa.
Carlson has the upper hand in the rivalry historically, with 12 championships and seven runner-up finishes, but hadn’t won a championship since 2019. Allen Park, which has five state titles and five runners-up finishes, had seized control with three straight crowns.
Reclaiming the top spot felt extra sweet for the Carlson seniors, who didn’t want to end their prep careers without a Finals championship.
“This is a dream come true,” said Carlson senior Avery St. Andre. “Being able to win state and to be surrounded by the girls I love is incredible.”
PHOTOS (Top) Gibraltar Carlson elevates during a routine at Friday night’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) Allen Park competes on the way to a runner-up finish.