D1 Preview: Rochester Leads the Charge
March 3, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
There’s a clear wall to climb for teams hoping to break into contention at the MHSAA Division 1 Competitive Cheer Finals.
Reigning champion Rochester and 2016 runner-up Grandville have combined to win six titles and finish second six times over the last decade – including the last two seasons when they alternated in the top spots.
Five teams enter tonight’s championship meet at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex looking to join those powers with a first title. A sixth, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, won in 2010 and entered the postseason ranked No. 2 and poised to compete as well for the top spot. Following are glances at all eight Division 1 teams competing beginning at 6 p.m. All four Finals will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a subscription basis.
BRIGHTON
Rank: No. 8.
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association Lakes and overall.
Co-coaches: Christina Wilson, fifth season.
Championship history: Class A runner-up 1999.
Top score: 784.50 at the District.
Team composition: 23 total (eight seniors, seven juniors, eight sophomores).
Outlook: Wilson formerly coached her alma mater Gibraltar Carlson to four Division 2 championships, and this season has Brighton back at the Finals for the first time since 2008. The Bulldogs have scored at least 780 points their last three competitions and four of their last six. Senior Maria Gawronski was second-team all-region last season, and junior Megan Nuffer earned an honorable mention.
GRANDVILLE
Rank: No. 3.
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red.
Coach: Julie Smith-Boyd, 36th season.
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2015), nine runner-up finishes.
Top score: 790.38 at the District.
Team composition: 33 total (14 seniors, six juniors, nine sophomores, four freshmen).
Outlook: Grandville has placed first or second to cap the last three seasons and finished 1.74 points behind Rochester at last season’s Final. The Bulldogs’ average score of 776.2 trails only Sterling Heights Stevenson’s this season, and they’ve put up the top scores in Division 1 in Rounds 1 (239.1, tied) and 2 (232.8). Seniors Daelyn Weir and Kayley Schuitema made the all-state first second last season, while seniors Claire Baker and Olivia Calvin earned honorable mentions.
HUDSONVILLE
Rank: No. 9.
League finish: Second in O-K Red.
Coach: Ashley Huyser, first season.
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up 2012.
Top score: 788.32.
Team composition: 27 total (11 seniors, six juniors, three sophomores, seven freshmen).
Outlook: Former Hudsonville standout Huyser, a 2012 grad, took over the program this fall and inherited a team that also made the Finals a year ago. The Eagles enter this weekend with a top score 11 points higher than at this point last season, when they went on to finish seventh. That top score ranks fourth in Division 1 this winter, and Hudsonville has broken 780 four times total and in three of its last four events. Senior Amanda Adams made the all-state first team in 2016.
LAKE ORION
Rank: Honorable mention.
League finish: Fourth in Oakland Activities Association Red.
Coach: Nicole Hills, fourth season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 780.98 in the Regional.
Team composition: 26 total (nine seniors, seven juniors, six sophomores, four freshmen).
Outlook: Lake Orion went from fifth in its league to sixth in all of Division 1 last season, and is hoping to take a similar step after improving to fourth in the OAA Red, winning its District and finishing fourth at its Regional. The Dragons have upped their overall score the last three meets and enter with a top score two points higher than at this point last season. Senior Sydney Johnson made the all-state second team in 2016, and senior Olivia Duffy earned honorable mention.
ROCHESTER
Rank: No. 1.
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red.
Coach: Susan Wood, 36th season.
Championship history: Thirteen MHSAA titles (most recent 2016), four runner-up finishes.
Top score: 789.26 in the District.
Team composition: 23 total (eight seniors, 10 juniors, five sophomores).
Outlook: Annually a team others have to chase, Rochester earned its first Division 1 title last season since 2009 and have kept right on rolling this winter with league, District and Regional titles. The Falcons’ top scores for each round this season all rank among the top four in Division 1, with their best Round 3 (320.7) the highest. Seniors Sydney Asuncion and Hope Fryer are returning all-state first teamers, while seniors Megan McMurray and Zy Turner made the second team last season and senior Sam Ellison earned an honorable mention.
ROCHESTER ADAMS
Rank: No. 5.
League finish: Second in OAA Red.
Coach: Brooke Miller, third season.
Championship history: Class A runner-up 1996.
Top score: 788.80.
Team composition: 27 total (nine seniors, 10 juniors, five sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: Adams is back at the MHSAA Finals for the first time since 1997 after finishing second only to reigning Division 1 champion Rochester in the league, District and Regional this winter. The Highlanders’ average overall score of 771.1 ranks fifth in Division 1, and its top Round 2 and 3 scores both rank among the top four. Junior Allison Mars earned all-region honorable mention last season.
ROCHESTER HILLS STONEY CREEK
Rank: No. 2.
League finish: Third in OAA Red.
Coach: Tricia Williams, 14th season.
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2010.
Top score: 786.68.
Team composition: 23 total (nine seniors, three juniors, nine sophomores, two freshmen).
Outlook: Stoney Creek missed the Finals last season but finished third as recently as 2015 and earned the same place in 2013 and 2012. The Cougars finished third in their league and at their District and fourth at their Regional this winter competing against the other two Rochester schools, and have topped 783 points three of their last five competitions. Their average overall score of 773.1 ranks fourth in Division 1. Senior Jacqueline McCarthy made the all-District first team in 2016.
STERLING HEIGHTS STEVENSON
Rank: No. 4.
League finish: Second in Macomb Area Conference Red.
Coach: Brianna Verdoodt, 12th season.
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up in 2011.
Top score: 785.08 at the Regional.
Team composition: 35 total (one senior, 10 juniors, 24 freshmen)
Outlook: Stevenson has finished seventh and then third the last two seasons, respectively, and enters this weekend with the highest average score in Division 1 at 777 points. The Titans have scored 780 or higher six times including five of their last six events and especially excel at Round 1, where they tie Grandville for highest top score of 239.1. Junior Anna Long made the all-state first team last season, while junior Carolina Poliss made the second team and juniors Lily Juncaj and Izzie Nitecki earned honorable mentions.
PHOTO: Rochester competes in Round 2 during last season's Division 1 Final.
Richmond Reigns Again as Paw Paw Offers Another Titanic Challenge
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 5, 2022
GRAND RAPIDS – Richmond was backed into a corner Saturday afternoon – but like a true champion, dug deep and fought its way out to continue its reign.
The Blue Devils needed a near-perfect final round to barely hold off a gutsy and impressive performance by Paw Paw at the Division 3 Final at the Delta Plex.
“We left our hearts out there on the mat in that final round,” said Richmond senior Sarah Mikolasik. “It’s bittersweet because it’s over, but it’s unreal what we did.”
Unreal is the perfect term to describe the high school cheer career for Mikolasik and the other seven seniors, who were a perfect 4-for-4 with Division 3 championships all four years.
However, for a period of time Saturday, it looked like the fourth title might slip away.
Richmond and Paw Paw entered the third and final round in a virtual tie, with the Blue Devils holding less than a 1-point lead (463.60 to 462.80).
Paw Paw was first to go out of the eight-school field in the final round, and to say the Red Wolves delivered would be the understatement of the day.
The Red Wolves, led by the senior duo of Paige Miller and Lexi Sunlin, absolutely nailed their final routine – much to the delight of the spectators who made the trip up from Southwest Michigan – putting them in position to win their first-ever cheer Finals title and bringing tears to the eyes of their veteran coach.
“I have never cried when one of my teams came off the mat – until today,” said 13th-year Paw Paw coach Stefanie Miller, who is also Paige’s mother. “Throughout that Round 3, the tears just welled up in my eyes. They went for it. I knew they won it.”
But Richmond had its chance.
At that point, all of the pressure in the world was on the three-time reigning champion to perform a very difficult routine, all while knowing that the slightest bobble or lean on a stunt would likely mean the end of that streak.
It was against that backdrop that Richmond, representing a small town just north of Detroit, showed why it has emerged as one of the best competitive cheer programs in the state.
Even though they weren’t on the mat at the same time, the Blue Devils matched every skill and stunt of the Red Wolves, finishing with a third-round score of 317.40, slightly better than Paw Paw’s final round of 317.20.
Richmond ended up winning with a total of 781, while Paw Paw was second at 780 – nearly the same margin of victory as one year ago.
While the margin was the same, both teams improved their total score by almost 10 points, with Richmond winning 771.62-770.72 in 2021.
“I was speechless when they came off that mat for the last time, because I knew they had done everything that they possibly could,” said Richmond coach Kelli Matthes, who has won six titles to go with five runner-up finishes during her 14 years as the team’s coach.
“They are not supposed to be perfect; they are human. But they fight tooth-and-nail every day to get there.”
Matthes is assisted by Melana Szczesniak, Lauren Riggs and Jessica Hatcher.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep placed third at 776.62, followed by Croswell-Lexington and Monroe Jefferson.
The title for Richmond means that all four team champions from 2021 repeated this year – Rochester Adams in D1, Allen Park in D2, Richmond in D3 and Hudson in D4.
Gracie Ellis, one of five returning senior all-staters for Richmond, said the abilities to be coachable and always striving to get better is the reason her school has won four championships in a row.
“Never when we correct people does anybody complain,” said Ellis, who was joined as a senior returning first-team all-stater by Makenna Parker, Hannah Jeroue, Savanna Krywy and Ava Moskwa. “They take it, and they work harder. That’s how you keep getting better.”
Other seniors for Richmond were Eryn Hart, Jenna Alexander and Mikolasik.
PHOTOS (Top) Richmond competes during Saturday’s Division 3 Finals at Grand Rapids’ Delta Plex. (Middle) Paw Paw celebrates its second-straight runner-up finish. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)