D2 Preview: Hopefuls Chase Carlson
March 6, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
No MHSAA Final in any sport has produced as consistent a series of finishes as the Division 2 Competitive Cheer Final over the last four seasons.
Gibraltar Carlson on Saturday is chasing a fifth straight title. Dearborn Divine Child has finished runner-up the last four seasons and will pursue a first championship – as will five others – when competition begins at 10 a.m.
Following are glances at all eight Division 2 teams competing at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex. All four Finals will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a subscription basis.
ALLEN PARK
Rank: No. 3.
League finish: Third in Downriver League.
Coach: Julie Goodwin, 10th season.
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2010, runner-up 2008.
Top score: 771.5.
Team composition: 25 total (11 seniors, five juniors, four sophomores, five freshmen).
Outlook: Allen Park moved up to third last season after two straight fourth places and could be poised to take another step. The Jaguars finished third at both their District and Regional but first or second at all but one event during the regular season – and that event was the championship meet for one of the strongest cheer leagues in the state. Senior Courtney Felt made the all-state first team last season and seniors Alicia Buhnerkemper and Katelyn Szwed earned honorable mentions.
DEARBORN DIVINE CHILD
Rank: No. 4.
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League.
Coach: Amber Genevich, 10th season.
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Top score: 771.9 at the District.
Team composition: 20 total (six seniors, three juniors, nine sophomores, two freshmen).
Outlook: Divine Child continued to push Gibraltar Carlson for the championship last season, falling fewer than eight points from a first title. The Falcons came within six of Carlson in finishing second at both the District and Regional, and their best scores for each round all rank among the top five posted in Division 2 this winter. Seniors Kaelah O’Brien, Laura Kastler and Hanna Korpics made the all-state second team last season, and senior Maggie Marion earned an honorable mention.
DEWITT
Rank: No. 2.
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference Red.
Coach: Candace Heskitt, seventh season.
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2007.
Top score: 781.30 at the District.
Team composition: 23 total (four seniors, 12 juniors, three sophomores, four freshmen).
Outlook: The Panthers have won four straight Regional championships and finished fifth at the last two Division 2 Finals – but look like a strong possibility to move up. DeWitt also won 10 of 13 events this season, with two seconds and a third place as well, and its top overall score is the best in Division 2. Senior Katlyn Sweeney and junior Abigail Wassom both made the all-state second team last season.
GIBRALTAR CARLSON
Rank: No. 1.
League finish: First in Downriver League.
Coach: Ayrn Ziesmer, first season.
Championship history: Seven MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), four runner-up finishes.
Top score: 779.04.
Team composition: 19 total (two seniors, three juniors, three sophomores, 11 freshmen).
Outlook: New coach and more than half the team new to high school – same results so far. Carlson is seeking its fifth straight title and sixth in seven seasons now under Ziesmer, a former assistant for reigning Division 1 champion Southgate Anderson. Carlson has posted the top Round 2 (229.22) and Round 3 (318.6) scores in Division 2 this season and the top average overall score (768.164) by more than six points. Junior Tahlia Hamilton made the all-state second team last season and junior Angelique Voden earned honorable mention.
GRAND RAPIDS KENOWA HILLS
Rank: No. 6.
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference Black.
Coach: Chris Hudson, fifth season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 760.68.
Team composition: 19 total (two seniors, seven juniors, four sophomores, six freshmen).
Outlook: Kenowa Hills is back at the Finals after missing the last two seasons and despite seeing league and District title streaks end – the Knights still finished a strong second at both. Kenowa Hills has posted scores that rank among the top 10 in the division this season for every round and has been especially strong in Round 2, where its best of 316.6 ranks fourth. Junior Bri Hardy made the all-region second team last season.
MIDDLEVILLE THORNAPPLE KELLOGG
Rank: No. 7.
League finish: First in O-K Gold.
Coach: Abby Kanitz, eighth season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 775.42.
Team composition: 22 total (three seniors, four juniors, nine sophomores, six freshmen).
Outlook: Thornapple Kellogg is back for its second straight Final and after winning its fifth straight league title. The Trojans finished sixth in Division 2 last year and are coming off their second-highest score of the season, 762.32, to finish second at their Regional. Thornapple Kellogg’s best Round 2 (228.62) and Round 3 (318.1) and overall scores all rank third in Division 2 this winter. Senior Katie Bowling made the all-state second team and senior Taylor Tyndall earned an honorable mention in 2014.
ORTONVILLE BRANDON
Rank: No. 8.
League finish: First in Flint Metro League.
Coach: Brooke Sharrard, second season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 767.42.
Team composition: 19 total (four seniors, six juniors, six sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: The Blackhawks also are back at the Finals for the first time since 2012, when they finished third in Division 2, and after finishing fourth at a Regional behind the top-three ranked teams overall. They’ve won league and District titles both seasons under Sharrard. Brandon’s best Round 1 score of 233.4 ranks sixth in Division 2 this season, and it has posted its top two overall scores over its last five competitions. Junior Sierra Coughlin made the all-region first team last season.
ST. JOSEPH
Rank: Unranked.
League finish: First in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference.
Coach: Jenna Ruddell, fourth season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 763.68 at the District.
Team composition: 24 total (six seniors, five juniors, five sophomores, eight freshmen).
Outlook: The Bears continue to rise under Ruddell, making their third Finals in a row after moving up three spots to finish fourth in 2014. The team finished first at seven events this season and posted its top two scores over the last two events – its best Round 3 score, 314.2, ranks seventh in Division 2 this season. Senior Bailey Hedman made the all-state first team last season, and senior Toria Beckum earned an honorable mention.
PHOTO: Dearborn Divine Child finished second in Division 2 last winter for the fourth straight, but will pursue its first title Saturday.
Division 1 Cheer: Titanic Finish
March 2, 2012
GRAND RAPIDS – Moments before its final round Friday, Southgate Anderson launched into an “I believe that we will win” chant with its crew of fans at the Grand Rapids Delta Plex.
A year ago, the Titans came to the MHSAA Division 1 Final with similar confidence – and finished seventh of eight teams at the championship meet.
But this time, with lessons learned, Southgate Anderson backed it up. The Titans scored the meet’s top Round 2 and 3 scores and outlasted surging Hudsonville to win their first MHSAA cheer championship.
“Last year … it was a crushing blow. We couldn’t believe that happened, and we weren’t going to let it happen again,” Titans senior Bri Walsh said. “We worked too hard to let it go. We needed to push through.
“It was a mindset. I’ve never been on a team this dedicated.”
Southgate Anderson scored 816.6032 points Friday, besting its previous top score this season by less than a tenth of a point. Hudsonville, which like Anderson had never finished even among the top two at the Finals, came in second with 813.2976. Rochester Stoney Creek was third with a score of 811.3456.
The Titans’ pre-Round 3 chant carried additional significance because of strong performances the last two weeks. As the regular season came to a close, Southgate Anderson considered itself a strong Round 2 team. For a while before that, the Titans specialized in Round 1.
But just before Districts, Southgate Anderson made some switches in its final routine that paid off big. Also, coach Colette Norscia said the difference between this and past teams was the increased time it spent conditioning. And Walsh agreed that was a difference-maker in the Titans’ being able to land more difficult skills this winter.
Although 16 of Southgate Anderson’s 28 cheerleaders were on the team last year, most of Friday’s competitors watched from the sideline in 2011.
“They were hungry for it last year,” Norscia said. They had an opportunity to see on the sideline what needed to be done, and they took that into the gym this year.”
She admitted that unlike usual, she didn’t look at the scoreboard heading into her team’s Round 3, and had no idea where her team stood. Hudsonville performed its Round 3 later in the final rotation, and Eagles coach Amanda Cooper did look at the scores and knew her team needed to be just about perfect to move into first place.
Hudsonville was nearly flawless and finished nine tenths behind the Titans in that round with a score of 324.600. But the Eagles’ final score was its best this season by nearly three points, and the runner-up finish bested their best previous Finals placing of third in 2010. Hudsonville finished eighth last season.
“We had our best three rounds on the same day here at states, and I can’t ask for anything more,” Cooper said. “We had an amazing week of practice and an amazing warm-up, so I was just excited for them to go out there and nail (Round 3). That’s what we said – just have a clean, fun, solid round.
“Runner-up is awesome. We couldn’t be any happier.”
Click for full results from the Division 1 Final, and check back Saturday night for results from Divisions 2, 3 and 4.
