D2 Preview: Downriver Powers Rising to Lead Another Finals Charge
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 4, 2022
A return of full Downriver League power will make Saturday morning’s Competitive Cheer Final feel much more like what we’re used to from Division 2.
Allen Park is back at Grand Rapids’ Delta Plex seeking a third-consecutive championship, and Gibraltar Carlson is returning after a year away and still sits second on the all-time championships list with 11. Southgate Anderson is a three-time Finals champ, and together they finished first-third in the league and their Regional over these last many weeks.
Division 2 competition begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. Tickets cost $10 and may be bought at the Delta Plex, and all four Finals will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable with a subscription. More information, including the spectator seating chart, is posted at MHSAA.com.
Below is a look at all eight finalists:
ALLEN PARK
League finish: First in Downriver League
Coach: Julie Goodwin, 17th season
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2021), four runner-up finishes.
Top score: 794.16.
Team composition: 28 total (nine seniors, 11 juniors, six sophomores, two freshmen).
Outlook: The Jaguars are competing for a third-straight Division 2 title and seventh-straight top-two Finals finish. They are again undefeated heading into Finals weekend, having broken 790 points in five of their last six competitions. Many of the team’s leaders have championship experience and multiple all-state honors – seniors Adreanna Carone and Cassidy Kuhn and junior Emma Buffa are returning first-team selections from 2021, while senior Cassidy Reardon and junior Kristine Beste made the second team last season and juniors Madisyn Setser and Emma Williams earned honorable mentions.
CEDAR SPRINGS
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold
Coach: Katy Hradsky, first season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 755.08.
Team composition: 17 total (nine seniors, one junior, six sophomores, one freshman).
Outlook: Cedar Springs is making its fourth-straight trip to the Finals and improved from seventh in 2020 to sixth last season. This will be the first appearance with Hradsky as head coach, but she was a major part of the program as the junior varsity coach the previous eight seasons after serving as co-head coach at Sparta from 2011-13. Cedar Springs posted its second-highest score, 753.58, to finish Regional runner-up. Senior Abbey Salisbury made the all-state second team last season.
DEARBORN DIVINE CHILD
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Bishop
Co-coaches: Amber Genevich, 19th season; Shelley Popiel, fifth season
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2011-14.
Top score: 782.86
Team composition: 20 total (three seniors, three juniors, seven sophomores, seven freshmen)
Outlook: Divine Child is returning to the Finals after two seasons away, riding a wave of strong scores with four straight of 761 or better and three of those reaching at least 773. Senior Makenna Yost and juniors Reese Eberth both earned all-Regional recognition last season.
DEWITT
League finish: Third in Capital Area Activities Conference Red
Coach: Candace Heskitt, 14th season
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up in 2020, 2015 and 2007.
Top score: 765.86 at Regional.
Team composition: 25 total (five seniors, four juniors, five sophomores, 11 freshmen).
Outlook: The Panthers have moved up from sixth in 2019 to third in 2020 to runner-up last season and enter this weekend coming off their first competition championship of this season. DeWitt is trending upward with its four highest scores coming in its four most recent events. Senior Anneliese Phillips made the all-state second team last season, and senior Hilary Ballard earned honorable mention.
GIBRALTAR CARLSON
League finish: Second in Downriver League
Coach: Alyssa Tocco, first season
Championship history: 11 MHSAA titles (most recent 2019), six runner-up finishes.
Top score: 790.18 at District
Team composition: 23 total (three seniors, nine juniors, three sophomores, eighth freshmen).
Outlook: Carlson is back at the Finals having finished first or second in Division 2 every season from 2008-20. Tocco is a past three-time Division 2 runner-up as an athlete on Allen Park’s team and a national runner-up collegiately, and served as an assistant at Plymouth the last five seasons before taking over the Marauders. They’ve finished first or second at all of their competitions this winter. The team didn’t compete during the 2021 postseason, but senior Destiny Rogers earned an all-state honorable mention in 2020 as a sophomore on that Finals runner-up team.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS NORTHERN
League finish: First in O-K White
Coach: Carly Sienkiewicz, fifth season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 757.04
Team composition: 18 total (two seniors, nine juniors, five sophomores, two freshmen).
Outlook: Forest Hills Northern is returning to the Finals for the first time since 1998 after winning its second-straight league title and reaching Regionals for the second time in three seasons. The Huskies’ top four scores have come over their four most recent competitions, including in winning the District title with a 756.82 two weeks ago. Junior Julie Fiser earned all-District recognition last season as FHN just missed advancing.
MUSKEGON REETHS-PUFFER
League finish: Second in O-K Green
Coach: Lisabeth Smith, first season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 750.64 at Regional
Team composition: 23 total (four seniors, nine juniors, three sophomores, six freshmen).
Outlook: Reeths-Puffer is returning to the Finals for the first time since 2018, after winning its District and posting its top score in finishing third at the Regional. Smith is a past Reeths-Puffers cheer athlete and coached in the program immediately after graduation, later taking over the Muskegon High program before taking a few years off and returning to coach the Rockets this winter. Reeths-Puffer just missed the Finals last season, but seniors Lillyanna Schoonbeck and Summer Curtis, junior Makenna Anthony and sophomore Kendall Eek all earned all-Regional recognition.
SOUTHGATE ANDERSON
League finish: Third in Downriver League.
Coach: Colette Norscia, 19th season
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Top score: 782.44 at District.
Team composition: 22 total (four seniors, 10 juniors, three sophomores, five freshmen).
Outlook: Anderson improved from sixth in 2020 to a close fifth last season, and its top score this season is more than six points higher than heading into last year’s Finals. The Titans have surpassed 771 three times and 761 in seven competitions. Senior Savannah Thomas and juniors Bella Plonka and Alexis Morris earned all-Regional recognition last season.
PHOTO Allen Park competes during last year’s Round 1 at Breslin Center. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
D3 Preview: Contenders Growing as Richmond Hopes to Reign Again
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 4, 2022
Paw Paw last year became the first team since 2014 to break into the top two at the Division 3 Competitive Cheer Finals that had been occupied in recent seasons solely by Richmond and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Richmond will be seeking its fourth consecutive championship Saturday at Grand Rapids’ Delta Plex. And we’ll see if Notre Dame Prep and Paw Paw are both able to make a strong push again, or if another new team might join the mix.
Division 3 competition begins at 3 p.m. Saturday. Tickets cost $10 and may be bought at the Delta Plex, and all four Finals will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable with a subscription. More information, including the spectator seating chart, is posted at MHSAA.com.
Below is a look at all eight finalists:
CROSWELL-LEXINGTON
League finish: Second in Blue Water Area Conference.
Coach: Katie Tomlinson, seventh season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 772.38 at Regional.
Team composition: 24 total (five seniors, six juniors, seven sophomores, six freshmen).
Outlook: Croswell-Lexington has finished fourth and fifth the last two seasons, and its top score this season is five points higher than heading into the Finals a year ago – and landed the Pioneers a third place at their Regional after they came in fourth at their District. Senior Ashley Peyerk made the all-state first team last season, and senior Taylor Johnson and sophomore Shelby Oliver made the second team.
HOWARD CITY TRI COUNTY
League finish: First in Central State Activities Association
Coach: Jennifer Laskey, 15th season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 747.96 at District.
Team composition: 24 total (five seniors, five juniors, four sophomores, 10 freshmen).
Outlook: Tri County is returning to the Finals after most recently finishing seventh in 2019. The Vikings opened this season with seven straight victories and eight over their first nine competitions, and their three highest scores have come over their last three events. Tri County did not compete during the postseason in 2021, but senior Vegas Hojnacki and junior Madalynn Laskey earned all-Regional recognition in 2020.
LAKE ODESSA LAKEWOOD
League finish: First in Greater Lansing Activities Conference
Coach: Kim Martin, 30th season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 757.5 at District
Team composition: 25 total (six seniors, five juniors, six sophomores, eight freshmen).
Outlook: Lakewood is returning to the Finals for the first time since placing fifth in 2018. The Vikings won their first seven competitions this season and came in second at their District, and they’ve twice surpassed 754 points. Lakewood also didn’t compete during the 2021 postseason, but seniors Hokulani Kaalakea and Elizabeth Minard both earned all-District recognition in 2020.
MONROE JEFFERSON
League finish: Second in Huron League
Coach: Sara Griffin, 15th season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 770.72 at Regional
Team composition: 18 total (eight seniors, three juniors, four sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: Jefferson is back at the Finals for the first time since finishing third place back-to-back in 2018 and 2019. The Bears finished sixth at their Regional last season but bounced back to qualify fourth last weekend. Senior Brianna Buchanan earned all-Regional recognition in 2021.
PAW PAW
League finish: First in Wolverine Conference.
Coach: Stefanie Miller, 13th season
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up in 2021.
Top score: 783.56.
Team composition: 20 total (nine seniors, three juniors, five sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: Paw Paw broke into the top two last season for the first time, finishing second after coming in third in 2020. The Red Wolves have continued to surge, winning both their District and Regional over the last two weekends and posting scores of 772 or higher five times with their top score this season four points higher than a year ago heading into the Finals. A number of last year’s top athletes are leading the way again – seniors Paige Miller and Alexis Sunlin made the all-state first team last season, while seniors Rylee Goldberg and Molly Goodwin and sophomore Maya Leonard made the second team.
PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Coach: Beth Lockhart, 10th season
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2018), three runner-up finishes.
Top score: 784.84 at District.
Team composition: 18 total (five seniors, one junior, three sophomores, nine freshmen).
Outlook: The Fighting Irish finished third last season after eight straight top-two finishes in Division 3, and they’ll be in the mix again after finishing second to Richmond at their District and Regional. Notre Dame Prep hasn’t finished lower than second in a competition this season and has broken 780 points twice and 771 three more times. Seniors Grace Byrne and Riley Lumm made the all-state first team last season, with senior Isabella Lulaj making the second and sophomore Alaina Byrne earning honorable mention.
PORTLAND
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference White
Coach: Mindy Blaschka, ninth season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 770.78.
Team composition: 19 total (six seniors, three juniors, nine sophomores, one freshman).
Outlook: The Raiders have advanced to the Finals for the first time after winning their fourth-straight league and second-straight District titles. Portland also was runner-up at its Regional and has scored 762 or higher its last three competitions. Seniors Catherine Svanda, Avery Brennan and Adrienne Hinds and junior Lily Buckland made the all-District first team last season.
RICHMOND
League finish: First in Blue Water Area Conference.
Coach: Kelli Matthes, 14th season
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2021), five runner-up finishes.
Top score: 789.78 at District.
Team composition: 26 total (eight seniors, six juniors, three sophomores, nine freshmen).
Outlook: Richmond has won three straight Division 3 titles and enters with a top score eight points higher than their best heading into last season’s Finals. The Blue Devils have won all of their competitions this season and scored 783 or higher in six including 786 to win their District and Regional. Ten of the team’s 12 all-staters are back. Seniors Makenna Parker, Hannah Jeroue, Savanna Krywy, Ava Moskwa and Gracie Ellis all made the first team last season, while senior Eryn Hart and juniors Ella Allen and Nicole Ostaszewski made the second team and junior Esther Lopiccolo and sophomore Annabell Loftis earned honorable mentions.
PHOTO Richmond competes during last year’s Round 3 at Breslin Center. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)