D2 Preview: Contenders Chasing Carlson

March 3, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Saturday’s Division 2 Competitive Cheer Final will have a nice mix of familiar and new – even as the favorite is one of the most dominant powerhouses in the history of the sport.

Gibraltar Carlson has won six straight championships, and Allen Park is expected to make the greatest push after also finishing second last winter. But three more of eight teams at Saturday morning’s 10 a.m. competition will be taking the mat at the Finals for the first time.

Following are glances at all eight Division 2 teams competing. All four Finals will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a subscription basis.

ALLEN PARK
Rank: No. 2.
League finish: Second in Downriver League.
Coach: Julie Goodwin, 12th season. 
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2010, runner-up 2016 and 2008. 
Top score: 789.12.
Team composition: 25 total (six seniors, eight juniors, eight sophomores, three freshmen). 
Outlook: Allen Park improved from fourth in 2015 to second last winter, and its top score heading into this weekend is seven points higher than at this time a year ago. The Jaguars have finished first or second in every competition this season except when they took third at their District; their top round scores are all among the top three in Division 2, and their average overall score of 777.7 is the highest in the state regardless of division. Seniors Olivia Grab and Delaney Millner and junior Carolyn Morris made the all-state first team last season, while junior Faith Ridolfi made the second and junior Hailey Woodworth earned honorable mention.

CHARLOTTE
Rank: Honorable mention.
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference White. 
Coach: Yvonne Ridge, 14th season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 756.82 at the District. 
Team composition: 20 total (seven seniors, seven sophomores, six freshmen).
Outlook: The Orioles are making their first trip to the MHSAA Finals in this sport after maintaining a spot among mid-Michigan’s top teams throughout this decade. They won their sixth straight league title and first District championship under Ridge this winter and have posted their three highest scores over their most recent six competitions. Sophomore Madyson Conklin earned an all-region honorable mention last season, and the future looks bright as well with 13 underclassmen making up more than half of the roster.

DEARBORN DIVINE CHILD
Rank: No. 3.
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League. 
Coach: Amber Genevich, 12th season.
Championship history: Four runner-up finishes (most recent 2014).
Top score: 789.2 at the District.
Team composition: 27 total (11 seniors, six juniors, six sophomores, four freshmen).
Outlook: Divine Child has finished among the top four, including fourth last season, at six straight Division 2 Finals and could be poised to climb again led by a large senior class. The score posted at the District is the second-highest in the division this season, and its top round scores all are among the top three in the division as well. Seniors Hannah Cifaldi and Paige Frye made the all-state first team last season, while junior Kristina Waldenmeyer made the second and senior Rylee Cronin and junior Megan O’Leary earned honorable mentions.

FLINT KEARSLEY
Rank: No. 6.
League finish: First in Flint Metro League.
Coach: Carrie Seymour, 13th season
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 763.74.
Team composition: 19 total (six seniors, eight juniors, four sophomores, one freshman).
Outlook: Kearsley is having a banner season with its first league and District titles and first trip to the MHSAA Finals. The Hornets won eight of their first nine competitions – finishing second in the other – and then came in fourth at their Regional to qualify for Saturday. Senior Hailey Baltosser made the all-region second team in 2016, and senior Madison Teed earned honorable mention.

GIBRALTAR CARLSON
Rank: No. 1.
League finish: First in Downriver League. 
Coach: Ayrn Ziesmer, third season.
Championship history: Nine MHSAA titles (most recent 2016), four runner-up finishes.
Top score: 793.48 at the District.
Team composition: 19 total (one senior, six juniors, three sophomores, nine freshmen).
Outlook: Carlson won its eighth title over the last nine seasons in 2016 with almost all underclassmen – and will look to extend the streak with a roster that has a little more experience but still is among the youngest in this division. That hasn’t mattered; the 793.48 score is the highest in the state, any division, this season, and the Marauders also have the top round score in the division in all three – and the tops in all divisions in Round 2 (233.1) and Round 3 (321.4). Senior Jordyn Hodge and juniors Hannah Pryba, Emily Scheffler and Samantha Zdankiewicz all made the all-state first team last season, while junior Katy Bradley and sophomore Madison VanBrimer made the second team and junior Morgan Thomas earned honorable mention.

GRAND RAPIDS KENOWA HILLS
Rank: No. 5.
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference Black.
Coach: Chris Hudson, seventh season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 776.72.
Team composition: 25 total (three seniors, six juniors, eight sophomores, eight freshmen). 
Outlook: Kenowa Hills improved from sixth in 2015 to third last season and ranks among the top four in Division 2 in highest score for Rounds 1 and 2 and overall. The Knights have finished first or second at all of their events, including the District and Regional behind league rival Muskegon Mona Shores. Junior Brianne Elliott made the all-state second team last season.

MUSKEGON MONA SHORES
Rank: No. 4.
League finish: First in O-K Black.
Coach: Amanda Heethuis, 10th season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish. 
Top score: 771.22.
Team composition: 24 total (eight seniors, seven juniors, six sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: Mona Shores is hoping to take another step at the Finals after moving up to win its league, District and Regional and all events but two where it finished second. The Sailors were seventh at last season’s Final but have the fourth-highest average score in Division 2 of 752.4. Junior Grace VanArendonk made the all-state first team in 2016, and senior Autumn Lambert made the second.

MUSKEGON REETHS-PUFFER
Rank:
 Unranked.
League finish: Fourth in O-K Black. 
Coach: Brittany Hoffman, third season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish. 
Top score: 753.48.
Team composition: 22 total (four seniors, nine juniors, six sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: Hoffman, a member of the first cheer teams at the school before graduating in 2003, returned to coach in 2014 after then-coach Danielle Nash was diagnosed with brain cancer. Nash died in December of that year, and the team went on to reach Regionals for the first time – and now earn its first MHSAA Finals berth. The Rockets’ top three scores have come during their last three meets, including in a second-place finish to Mona Shores at the Greater Muskegon city competition.  

PHOTO: Muskegon Mona Shores, here competing in Round 3 last season, is among teams hoping to challenge Gibraltar Carlson’s dynasty Saturday.

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.

Paw Paw competitive cheerIt 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.

Click for full results.

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.)