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, 36
th 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, 36
th 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, 12
th 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. 

Carlson 'Legends' Build Record Streak

March 5, 2016

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half

GRAND RAPIDS – The Gibraltar Carlson competitive cheer team entered Saturday with the opportunity to make MHSAA history. 

The pressures involved with the astounding feat didn’t faze the Marauders at all.

Gibraltar Carlson led from start to finish during the Division 2 Final at the DeltaPlex and became the first cheer team to win six consecutive MHSAA championships, regardless of class or division. 

The Marauders previously were tied with Rochester (1999-2003) for the longest streak. They snapped the deadlock with a convincing win ahead of runner-up and Downriver League rival Allen Park.

“Going for six in a row, which had never been done in cheerleading, was a lot of pressure,” second-year Gibraltar Carlson coach Ayrn Ziesmer said. “I’ve done a lot of things in my life that I’m proud of, but I will never be a living legend, and that’s what they are today. They will go down in history as the first team in cheerleading to win six in a row, and that is something that can never be taken from them.” 

The Marauders posted a final score of 786.26, while the Jaguars finished at 777.62 to edge third-place Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills (774.80).

Gibraltar Carlson’s historic effort was accomplished with a youthful group. One senior and one junior combined with 11 sophomores and seven freshmen to spark the top-ranked squad. 

The lone senior, Mary Miller, became the only girl to be a part of the team’s last four MHSAA championships.

“It’s so relieving to go out on top, and this is unreal,” Miller said. “When I was a freshman and we three-peated, I never thought it would be my senior year and the only one doing it for six and making history. I’m very proud of my team right now and the coaching staff.” 

Miller said the pressure to carry on the tradition was intense.

“There’s a lot of pressure walking in here and knowing that everyone wants to see you fall because they want a new champion,” she said. “But for me, that fueled my fire and made me want to prove everybody wrong.” 

The string of titles for Gibraltar Carlson began in 2011 under coach Christina Wilson and then transitioned to Danielle Jokela in 2013. She passed the reins to Ziesmer last season, and the success never wavered.

“There are a lot of expectations for this program, and they are expected to be better than everybody else every day,” Ziesmer said. “They are held to a higher standard, so I’m extremely proud that they were able to live up to it and win by the margin that they did today.” 

The Marauders held a six-point advantage heading into Round 3. They cemented their place in history by posting a 319.40.

“It’s our money round,” junior Jordyn Hodge said. “It’s my favorite round to compete in, personally, and we just have fun. Hitting it just makes everyone want to do it over and over again. 

“This season has been amazing, and it means a lot for all of our hard work to pay off. Working hard for nine months, getting here and then doing it.”

The Marauders posted high scores in each round, something they didn’t produce a year ago. 

“We lost Round 2, so when we left last year it was a kind of a we-wanted-more feeling,” Ziesmer said. “But this year they won all three rounds by a pretty big margin, and that is such a satisfying feeling. To know that I, or the team, couldn’t have done anything better. They have no regrets.”

Allen Park placed in the top-two for the first time since winning a Division 2 title in 2010. The Jaguars also were young, boasting a bevy of underclassmen

“I have a very young team, and they were hungry,” Allen Park coach Julie Goodwin said. “They’ve been working hard, and they did an outstanding job today. Our goals today were to just put out our best rounds, have fun and make memories. We knew it was going to be a battle today, and our Round 3 was awesome.”

Click for full results. 

PHOTOS: (Top) Gibraltar Carlson holds a stunt on the way to winning a record sixth straight MHSAA cheer championship. (Middle) Allen Park finished second, its highest since winning Division 2 in 2010.