Cros-Lex Believes, Achieves in Surpassing Pair of Powers for 1st Finals Title
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 3, 2023
MOUNT PLEASANT – Croswell-Lexington senior Noelle Golda said her team pushed itself to overcome a different challenge every day in practice this season, which gave it the confidence to shock the state Friday afternoon.
That new-found belief allowed the Pioneers to move past two perennial powers and win the Division 3 competitive cheer championship at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant.
It was the first time Croswell-Lexington finished better than fourth at the Cheer Finals, and it was the first time since 2011 that a school other than Richmond or Pontiac Notre Dame Prep won the D3 title.
“Every day we gave ourselves a different type of challenge so that we could feel what it’s like to break through,” explained Golda, one of eight seniors on the 28-athlete roster, as she wiped away happy tears.
“You have to believe in yourself, and you have to be proud of who you are and where you come from. This is amazing for our school.”
Croswell-Lexington won with a score of 776.72, followed by Notre Dame Prep (776.02) and then Richmond (774.96). Grosse Ile, which turned in the best Round 3 score, was fourth (774.92) and Paw Paw fifth (768.22).
Cros-Lex, as the Sanilac County school located in Michigan’s Thumb is popularly known, finished second in the Blue Water Area Conference, second in Districts and third in Regionals. But on the sport’s biggest stage, nobody handled the pressure better than the Pioneers.
Heading into Round 3, Richmond was in the lead with Notre Dame Prep less than a half-point behind. Cros-Lex sat in a familiar position, in third, just behind those two state powers.
But on this day – after watching those two schools repeatedly win District, Regional and Finals trophies in front of them – it was the Pioneers’ turn to win.
“It was really a matter of finally believing in ourselves – not just that we were a good team, but that we were a state championship team,” said eighth-year Pioneers coach Katie Tomlinson. “We have struggled with that for so long, and today we broke through it.”
Richmond and Notre Dame Prep both struggled uncharacteristically in Round 3 under extreme pressure, while Croswell-Lexington, perhaps a little under the radar in third place, was nearly flawless in the final round.
The shocking, come-from-behind triumph was especially sweet for the Pioneers’ eight seniors, who placed fourth, fifth and fourth at the Finals the past three years – which were the best finishes in school history. Those seniors were Golda, Georgia Calegari, Santanna Horning, Alleyna Martinez, Cassidy Seaman, Emma Six, Maria Tabernero and Deborahann White.
When the final scores were read and Notre Dame was announced as second place – leaving only Croswell-Lexington left to be champion – those seniors and all 28 girls burst out in tears of joy and accomplishment.
“We had a good feeling all day,” explained White. “Something just felt different all day than all of those other competitions. Now we know why – it was our day.”
The Pioneers should be strong again next winter, as junior Shelby Oliver made the all-state second team last season, and junior Cora Katulski earned honorable mention.
Notre Dame Prep, which won five straight D3 titles from 2014-2018, improved on its third-place finishes the past two years. That was little consolation, however, as the Fighting Irish fell short of their goal of a sixth Finals championship by seven-tenths of a point.
Richmond, which had its streak of four consecutive championships snapped, put itself in position for No. 5 with outstanding showings in Rounds 1 and 2, but was unable to deliver in the pivotal final round.
“We have some really young kids, and they have had some good days and some rough days,” explained 15th-year Richmond coach Kelli Matthes. “At the end of the day, the right team won. I’m sad for our kids, but I am truly happy for (Croswell-Lexington).”
The victory was extra satisfying for Tomlinson, a Croswell-Lexington graduate and former competitive cheerleader at the school, who never made it to the Finals while in high school. She clutched the championship trophy tightly as she talked about the progression of the program, which had just nine athletes in 2016, her first season as coach.
“The turning point for us was getting more girls to come out and get buy-in from the parents,” said Tomlinson, who is assisted by Christi Whitican and Avery Falter. “When we started coming here (to the Finals), our goal changed to trying to make the top three.
“Now we are state champs, and I can’t believe it. Now I guess we just have to go back to the drawing board for next year.”
PHOTOS (Top) Croswell-Lexington competes at Friday’s Division 3 Final on the way to winning its first championship. (Middle) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep moved up a spot from 2022 in finishing runner-up.
Allen Park Extends Era of Dominance with 5th Title Over 6 Seasons
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
MOUNT PLEASANT – Allen Park sure makes it look easy during pressure-packed competitive cheer competitions, and veteran coach Julie Goodwin has an explanation for that.
“All of the hard work goes on during the week, in the gym,” explained Goodwin, who just finished her 21st year as the Jaguars’ coach.
“Today, or any competition we have, we get to dress up and pick up a trophy. But we actually won it in the gym.”
Allen Park picked up yet another trophy Saturday at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena, winning its second-consecutive Division 2 Finals championship – and the fifth over the past six years.
The Jaguars posted the best score in the eight-team field in all three rounds, taking the lead early and continuing to build on it, finishing with 791.90 points.
Gibraltar Carlson, AP’s longtime conference rival, kept the pressure on the Jaguars all day, taking second at 788.42. Carleton Airport (784.16) took third, and Walled Lake Western (779.68) placed fourth.
Allen Park got the upper hand again over Carlson in one of the state’s best high school rivalries, in any sport.
Consider: It has been 18 years, all the way back to 2007 (Holland Christian), since a school other than Allen Park or Gibraltar Carlson has won the Division 2 cheer title. Carlson has won 11 championships, and AP now has seven over that span.
“We love it,” explained Allen Park senior Abby Obrycki, a returning first-team all-stater. “We are so lucky to have such good competition in the Downriver League to push as all the time. We love being a part of it.”
The Jaguars defeated Carlson at the Regional by more than seven points, but Saturday, the Marauders cut that margin significantly.
Carlson, which won the Division 2 title in 2023 and took fourth last year, trailed by just over two points Saturday entering the decisive third round. The Marauders were in the unenviable position of going first in Round 3, but led by seniors Sofia Lanzini, Maranda Steinmetz and Haley Sanchez, they came up with a stellar final performance.
That meant it came down to Allen Park having to answer under the pressure of thousands of fans on the state’s biggest stage, which it did in impressive fashion once again.
“We call that third round the money round because that’s where you have to win it, even though we had a little bit of a lead going into it today,” said Goodwin, who also has five runner-up finishes in her career. “We had a great week, and it showed in that final round. There was no fear and no nervousness.”
Allen Park scored 321.90 in Round 3, slightly better than Carlson’s 320.80, to provide the final margin of victory.
Other leaders for the Jaguars this season were junior Sophia Ramey, a returning first-team all-stater, and senior Peyton Will, an honorable mention choice.
Allen Park is a young team, losing just five seniors off its 23-girl roster, making a ‘three-peat’ a definite possibility. Other seniors were Leslie Hernandez, Kate O’Riley and Ella Peschke.
Peschke said going out as a back-to-back champion makes the grind and all of the long, six days of practice every week more than worth it.
“It felt great to leave it all out on the mat one more time,” said Peschke. “It’s a great feeling to be a state champion, but it’s an even better feeling to do it with your best friends.”
PHOTOS Allen Park (top) and Gibraltar Carlson compete Saturday during the Division 2 Competitive Cheer Final at McGuirk Arena.