D3 Preview: Familiar Favorites Lead the Way
March 4, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three of the last five seasons, Richmond and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep have finished first and second in some order atop the MHSAA Division 3 Finals standings. The same was true again at this winter’s District and Regional competitions.
So it wouldn’t stun many to see those teams compete for the top prize again this weekend – although six more teams would love to provide a surprise or two along the way.
Following are glances at all eight Division 3 teams competing at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday. All four Finals will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a subscription basis.
COMSTOCK PARK
Rank: No. 7.
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue.
Coach: Kathy Felty, 26th season.
Championship history: Division 3 champions 2011 and 2009, three runner-up finishes.
Top score: 762.56 at the Regional.
Team composition: 19 overall (seven juniors, seven sophomores, five freshmen).
Outlook: After graduating 11 seniors from last season’s team, Comstock Park has none but an exciting future after winning 10 of 14 events this season including the District with its highest score of the winter. The Panthers have finished fourth, second and fourth, respectively, at the last three Division 3 Finals, and this season surges during Round 3 with its top score of 762.6 ranking seventh in the division and its average total score of 733.1 listing sixth. Juniors Alyssa Geraghty, Heather Damuth and Haleigh Brown and sophomore Jakela Davis earned all-region honors last season.
ESCANABA
Rank: Unranked.
League finish: First in Great Northern Conference.
Coach: Kristopher Langlois, second season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 752.66 at the District.
Team composition: 22 total (nine seniors, four juniors, six sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: Escanaba blasted onto the downstate scene by winning a Regional last week that included No. 7 Comstock, No. 5 Lakewood, No. 10 Paw Paw and No. 8 Freeland, and advanced to the MHSAA Finals for the first time. Round 3 is where the Eskymos shine most, with their top score of 315.3 ranking third in Division 3 this season. Escanaba won nine of its 10 events, finishing second just once. Junior Samantha Flinn made the all-region second team last season as the Eskymos competed in Division 2.
LAKE ODESSA LAKEWOOD
Rank: No. 5.
League finish: First in Greater Lansing Activities Conference.
Coach: Kim Martin, 22nd season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 750.40.
Team composition: 19 total (seven seniors, seven juniors, four sophomores, one freshman).
Outlook: Lakewood is back at the Finals for the second straight season after finishing eighth in 2015. The Vikings’ third place at the Regional was its only place lower than second this season. Similar to last winter, they’re especially strong in Round 1, with a top score this season of 233.7 that ranks third in Division 3, and their average overall score of 728.6 ranks seventh in the division. Senior Samantha Morrison made the all-state first team last season, while senior Carley Bennett made the second team and senior Haley VanValkenburg earned honorable mention.
MONROE JEFFERSON
Rank: No. 4.
League finish: First in Huron League.
Coach: Sara Griffin, eighth season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 766.68 at the Regional.
Team composition: 18 total (six seniors, five juniors, five sophomores, two freshmen).
Outlook: Griffin, who formerly led Flat Rock to the Finals in 2006, brings a team that won five events this season and never finished lower than third. The Bears’ top Round 1 and 2 scores rank among the top five in Division 3 this season – with the Round 2 score of 228.2 second and their average overall score of 737.6 ranking fifth. The Regional score was 24 points better than their previous best this season. Seniors Kayleigh Adams, Chrissy Boitnott and Ashleigh Carroll and junior Haylie Jewell all earned all-district honors last season.
OVID-ELSIE
Rank: No. 3.
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference Central and overall.
Coach: Katie Calverley, fourth season.
Championship history: Class C champion 2005 and 2004.
Top score: 765.26 at the Regional.
Team composition: 19 total (nine seniors, one junior, five sophomores, four freshmen).
Outlook: Ovid-Elsie will return to the Finals for the first time since finishing fifth in 2013 and after reaching the Regionals both of the last two seasons; Calverley was a member of the teams that won back-to-back Class B titles. A fourth-place at the Regional was the Marauders’ lowest this season; they won 10 events and finished second once. Round 2 is a strength, as the team’s top score of 228.5 is tops in Division 3 and would rank fourth in Division 2. Seniors Courtney Loynes, Leah Batora and BreAnna Deming and junior Riley Caswell earned all-region honors in 2015.
PAW PAW
Rank: No. 10.
League finish: First in Wolverine Conference.
Coach: Stefanie Miller, seventh season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 748.56 at the District.
Team composition: 18 total (six seniors, three juniors, nine sophomores).
Outlook: Paw Paw finished sixth a year ago, its fourth straight finish of seventh or higher. The Redskins won seven events this season including their District, and also broke 740 points to win their league meet. The team’s best Round 3 score of 313.4 ranks fifth in Division 3, and its best Round 2 score is ninth. Seniors Hannah Diaz and Georgia Waldron and juniors Brianne Korteway and Mary Schincariol earned all-region honors last season.
PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP
Rank: No. 2.
League finish: Second in the Detroit Catholic League.
Coach: Beth Campbell, fourth season.
Championship history: Division 3 champions 2015 and 2014, runner-up 2013.
Top score: 778.58 at the Regional.
Team composition: 26 total (six seniors, eight juniors, seven sophomores, five freshmen).
Outlook: Notre Dame Prep has continued its string of success and is a favorite again after winning Division 3 the last two seasons. The Fighting Irish have finished first or second in every event this season and posted scores of 770 or higher four times and dating to their third meet of the season. Notre Dame Prep has the highest Round 1 (235.3), Round 3 (318.5) and overall scores (778.6) in Division 3 this winter. Seniors Paige Lombardo and Lauren Kavanagh made the all-state second team last season, and senior Allison Kot and junior Grace Mackey earned honorable mentions.
RICHMOND
Rank: No. 1.
League finish: First in Blue Water Area Conference.
Coach: Kelli Matthes, eighth season.
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2013 and 2012, runner-up 2015 and 2011.
Top score: 778.2 at the Regional.
Team composition: 28 total (two seniors, 11 juniors, five sophomores, 10 freshmen).
Outlook: Back and forth Richmond has gone with Notre Dame Prep most of the last five seasons, and was the favorite heading into the postseason after finishing second to the Fighting Irish a year ago – but before finishing second to the Irish at the District and Regional last month. Still, Richmond has the highest average overall score in Division 3 – 765.1 – and the second-highest top scores in Rounds 1 and 3. Seniors Emily Fitzsimons and Jessica Hatcher made the all-state first team last season, while juniors Kaleigh Taylor and Kari Olsen made the second team and juniors Haley Saikowski and Lauren Duche earned honorable mentions.
PHOTO: Reigning champion Pontiac Notre Dame Prep performs its Round 1 routine during last season's Division 3 Final.
Falcons Giving Coach Champion Send-Off
February 21, 2018
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
KENTWOOD – As a freshman, Kylie Dunn remembers when she received the letter stating that she had made the East Kentwood competitive cheer team.
“When I got on the team I was super thankful to Coach, and I’ve been working my butt off just to prove to her how thankful I was for her to take me on the team,” Dunn said. “And I just think that since this is her last year, and this is my last year, it makes it even more special that we get to end it together.”
Dunn, one of nine seniors on this year’s roster, is currently helping make this season a memorable one for departing coach Stacy Geerts.
Geerts announced before the winter began that this would be her final one, ending a successful 25-year coaching career that has included the past 17 years at East Kentwood.
“I think it’s time,” Geerts said. “The last couple years I’ve been saying this might be my last year, but then there are those girls that I start coaching that I can’t see myself not being there for the four years.”
Geerts, who’s guided the Falcons to 14 MHSAA Finals appearances and a pair of runner-up finishes (2004 and 2010), will pass the reins of the program to former athlete Alona Blake.
Blake was on Geerts’ first competitive cheer team at East Kentwood.
“I went into it already knowing that I wanted it to be my last year and I wanted to make sure I was leaving it in good hands,” Geerts said. “I didn’t want to leave and have some random person take over my program. She has been with me for a while, and I know she will be awesome.”
The No. 4-ranked Falcons are in the midst of a banner run after enjoying regular-season success that has spilled over to the postseason.
East Kentwood has won nine meets, the most of any team in Geerts’ career, and recently claimed an Ottawa-Kent Conference Red and Division 1 District championships.
The Falcons’ success, however, wasn’t necessarily forecasted.
“Last year we lost a lot of seniors that were pretty crucial to this team, so I thought it was going to be a rebuilding year,” East Kentwood senior Sophie Bensyl said. “But on that first day of practice, I just knew there was something special. Once we got into it and started working, we knew we would go far.”
Even Geerts had early doubts about whether this team could reach greater heights.
“I did not know they were going to be as good as they have turned out to be,” Geerts said. “I knew they had the talent, and the leadership with the seniors would be good, but I did not know to the extent of how good this team would be.”
This year’s squad has combined humility, desire and work ethic to become one of the state’s best.
“The girls have been amazing,” Geerts said. “We win on a Saturday and they come back Monday and don’t act like they’ve ever won. They just come back and want to work that much harder, and this is the hardest working team I have ever coached.
“We don’t have a weak round this year, and they are humble and hungry all the time to win. It’s been a dream year, and I could not have written out a better year for my story to end this way.”
Dunn has been excited about the growth and commitment from the entire team.
“This is my 10th year of cheering and I’ve never been on a team full of so many dedicated and hard-working girls,” she said. “It’s like all the puzzle pieces are coming together for my last year, and I love this team.”
“It’s the most fun I’ve had in competitive cheer, and our team is something special,” Bensyl added. “We have a bond like no other, and it’s really cool to be able to be together every day at practice and at competitions.”
Other key standouts on the squad include seniors Ciara Green and Macy Brown, sophomores Trinity Nery, Ajla Zukic and Shelly Pham and junior Autumn Burns.
After a lengthy string of consecutive solid showings at the Finals, the Falcons failed to advance in 2015, and they missed out again last season.
The goal this year was to return to the Finals, and they will get the opportunity Saturday at the Regional at Brighton.
The top four teams advance to the Finals, March 2 at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex.
“We have a tough region, but our District is as hard as our region and we compete in such a tough conference,” Geerts said. “The competition just makes us better every week, and we don’t compare ourselves to anybody. We are just out to do the best we can, and if they can do the best they can do without mistakes then we will win.
“That has been proven week after week, and I’m hoping that holds true for Regionals.”
And what would it mean if the Falcons can make a trip to the Finals?
“It gives me butterflies just thinking about it,” Dunn said. “It would show that all of our hard work is paying off and the hours of practice we do every day mean something. We are very privileged to be on a team where we have an amazing coach and amazing girls on the team. Not everyone gets to have that.”
Added Bensyl: “This is the last season for the seniors and for Coach, so we’re pretty motivated to do that for her. This is her year to go out big.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) East Kentwood competes on its home floor this season. (Middle) The Falcons celebrate one of their championships this winter. (Photos courtesy of the East Kentwood competitive cheer program.)