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.
Adams All Business In Division 1 Title Repeat
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 26, 2021
EAST LANSING – Rochester Adams eked out its first Finals championship last year, but this time the Highlanders gave their nerves a little bit of a rest.
Adams posted the best score in all three rounds in Friday’s Division 1 championship competition at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center for a 790.52 total, nearly eight full points better than unexpected runner-up Grandville (782.60).
“We expected to win this year – that was our mindset,” said Claire Crutchfield, one of seven seniors on the Highlanders’ roster.
“Maybe we didn’t think we’d win by that much, but we have been working non-stop since state last year and all of that hard work has paid off.”
Plymouth (782.36) placed third after last year’s runner-up finish, and Grand Blanc (780.30) took fourth.
Adams now has finished either first or second in Division 1 four years in a row, with runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2019.
The Highlanders lost only four seniors off last year’s team and had a strong group of senior leaders this winter. Crutchfield and Olivia Ris are both returning first-team all-staters, Ava Bondra was second team in 2020, Melina Catenucci and Carly Schultz were honorable mention and the other seniors are Maya Dalal and Kennedy Lloyd.
Brooke Miller, who is in her seventh year as Adams coach, said her team’s business-like approach was critical Friday and throughout the season, as it won all but one competition all year.
“We do a lot of visualization and practice keeping our nerves in check,” explained Miller, who is assisted by Jocelyn Welsh, Quin Gonzalez and Alison Keaser. “Then when we get in a pressure situation, it’s kind of business-like. It’s just doing what we do.”
The win also solidified Rochester as the epicenter of Division 1 cheer in Michigan. The city in northern Oakland County has produced five of the past six D1 champions – with Rochester winning in 2016 and 2017 and Rochester Hills Stoney Creek in 2019.
The hardest part of the day for the Highlanders’ seniors was when it ended.
“I’ve never been on a team with a bond like this, so yeah, it was very bittersweet running off that mat for the last time,” said Schultz.
The biggest surprise of the day was Grandville, which didn’t even make the Finals last year and got off to slow start Friday, sitting in sixth place after the first round.
But the Bulldogs kept fighting and moved up to fourth after a solid second round. Then they nailed their third round to vault all the way to second when the final results were announced.
“What a Round 3; we really hit it,” said Grandville coach Julie Smith-Boyd, who is the dean of state cheer coaches in her 40th year. “We didn’t make it to state last year and we have a very young team, so just getting here was a big accomplishment – taking second is fantastic.”
Smith-Boyd has led Grandville to six Finals titles, the most recent in 2015, and now has 10 runner-up finishes.
This season’s may have been the most unanticipated of any of those top finishes, as the Bulldogs had just three seniors, who were also the team’s captains – Chloe Beatty, Ellie Irwin and Charli Sanchez.
Click for full team standings.
PHOTOS: (Top) Rochester Adams celebrates its repeat championship in Division 1 on Friday. (Middle) Grandville rose from sixth after Round 1 to finish runner-up. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)