D3 Preview: New Contenders Aim to Rise
March 1, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
For five straight seasons, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep has finished first and Richmond second at the Division 3 Competitive Cheer Finals at Grand Rapids Delta Plex.
Over the past two weekends, they’ve faced off twice again – the Fighting Irish winning the District by eight hundredths of a point, before Richmond won their Regional matchup a week later by just more than four points.
But there are others who would love to break up that dominance at the top. Below are glances at all eight teams competing Saturday. Division 3 begins at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a subscription basis. Click here for the Finals draws and other important information.
ALMA
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference West and overall
Coach: Laura Capen, eighth season
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 749.8 at the District.
Team composition: 14 total (four seniors, two juniors, six sophomores, two freshmen)
Outlook: Capen, who started the school’s competitive cheer program in 2010-11, will bring the Panthers to the Finals for the first time. Alma finished first or second in all of its events but the Regional, although its score last weekend was its third highest this winter. Seniors Cornelia Gotaas and Karen Nguyen made the all-District first team last season.
CHARLOTTE
League finish: Tied for first in Capital Area Activities Conference Red
Co-coaches: Yvonne Ridge, 16th season; Liz Hoogstra, third season
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 777.10.
Team composition: 20 total (six seniors, five juniors, three sophomores, six freshmen)
Outlook: Charlotte has posted sixth-place Finals finishes the last two seasons (in Division 2 in 2017). The Orioles are set to make a jump with the third-highest average total score (777.1) in the division and top-three best scores in all three rounds. Senior Lauren Wietzke made the all-state first team last season, while senior Madyson Conklin made the second and senior Mackenzie Bleisch earned honorable mention.
COMSTOCK PARK
League finish: First in O-K Blue
Coach: Hayley Robinson, first season
Championship history: Division 3 champions 2011 and 2009, three runner-up finishes.
Top score: 739.4 at the Regional.
Team composition: 22 total (four seniors, three juniors, eight sophomores, seven freshmen)
Outlook: Robinson, a 2015 graduate, has taken over the program this season after the retirement of longtime coach Kathy Felty – and the success has continued. Comstock Park added another league title and won its District, and will look to improve on last season’s eighth-place Finals finish. Senior Shaelyn Scott earned all-state honorable mention a year ago.
HOWARD CITY TRI-COUNTY
League finish: First in Central State Activities Association
Coach: Jennifer Laskey, 12th season
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 748.26 at the Regional.
Team composition: 21 total (11 seniors, two juniors, four sophomores, four freshmen)
Outlook: Tri-County won its fourth straight league title and first Regional championship under Laskey to return to the Finals for the fifth time in seven seasons. The Vikings upped their best total scores from the regular season by 20 points at the District and Regional. Senior Cylee Weining made the all-Regional second team last season.
MONROE JEFFERSON
League finish: First in Huron League
Coach: Sara Griffin, 11th season
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 773.12
Team composition: 21 total (seven seniors, three juniors, 11 freshmen)
Outlook: Jefferson has finished third the last two seasons as it’s continued to push the annual favorites, and should do so again. The Bears’ average total score of 762.4 ranks third in Division 3, and they’ve totaled more than 770 three times this winter. Junior Jaiden St. Andre made the all-state first team last season, while junior Amara Gould made the second team and senior Sarah Johnson earned honorable mention.
PAW PAW
League finish: First in Wolverine Conference
Coach: Stefanie Miller, 10th season
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 776.02.
Team composition: 22 total (seven juniors, six sophomores, nine freshmen)
Outlook: Paw Paw missed the Finals last season for the first time since 2010, but came back to win 10 of 13 events this winter including its District. The top score noted above was the fourth-highest in the division, and the team’s best Round 3 (318.9) ranks third. Junior Joscelin Stewart earned all-Regional honorable mention last season.
PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP
League finish: Does not participate in a league.
Coach: Beth Campbell, seventh season
Championship history: Division 3 champions 2014-18, runner-up 2013.
Top score: 787.28
Team composition: 29 total (five seniors, five juniors, nine sophomores, 10 freshmen)
Outlook: Notre Dame Prep has broken 785 points its last two events and at least 771 over its last five. It trails only Richmond with an average score of 771.5, and the Fighting Irish have posted the division’s high Round 1 (238.2). A large group of standouts will return to Grand Rapids: senior Katie Lee made the all-state first team last season, while senior Natalie Johnson and juniors Megan Sollmer and Katie Topoleski made the second team and seniors Mae Ida Bryan and Paige Gollinger earned honorable mentions.
RICHMOND
League finish: First in Blue Water Area Conference
Coach: Kelli Matthes, 11th season
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2013 and 2012, runner-up five times.
Top score: 789.08 at the Regional.
Team composition: 29 total (seven seniors, 11 juniors, three sophomores, eight freshmen)
Outlook: As noted, Richmond bounced back from the close District runner-up finish to win the Regional by four points, and the Blue Devils have gone over 783 seven times including in their last four events. They own the top Round 2 (232.6), Round 3 (320.5), total and average total (779.8) scores in the division. Nearly all of the team’s best from 2018 are back for another run – seniors Kendal Valentine and Hannah Lopiccolo and junior Nicole Logghe made the all-state first team last season, while seniors Jordan Anthony and Megan McCallister and junior Madison Danielle made the second and junior Jordan Valentine earned honorable mention.
PHOTO: Alma will be making its first MHSAA Finals appearance; here, the Panthers compete at the Alma College Cheer Fest. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Grandville Cheer Raises Bar in Repeat Bid
December 23, 2015
Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRANDVILLE – Grandville has had one of the elite competitive cheer programs in the state since the sport became MHSAA-sponsored in 1994.
Six championships in Division 1/Class A and eight runner-up finishes over the past 21 years provide undeniable proof of the program’s success under longtime coach Julie Smith-Boyd.
Grandville enters this season as the defending Division 1 champion after notching a narrow victory over another perennial power, Rochester, at last season’s MHSAA Final. It was the Bulldogs’ first title since 2011.
Smith-Boyd, in her 35th year at the helm, said a key to last year’s run was a commitment to conditioning and weight training.
“Last year was the first year that we lifted throughout the season,” Smith-Boyd said. “We have lifted in the past, but once the season started we stopped. It was amazing to me how much stronger they were at the end, and now that we’ve been doing it for over a full year they are so strong.”
The hiring of strength and conditioning coach Tully Chapman has made a world of difference to not only the competitive cheer squad, but other sports at Grandville.
“Everything is so much better and stronger, even with their tumbling,” Smith-Boyd said. “They are showing more athleticism, and it has benefited us so much. The lifting has made them more mentally tough, to get through some things that they didn’t think they could do. We are doing some hard things this year and really mixing it up.”
The added element to the program, combined with the return of several key performers, has the Bulldogs primed to duplicate last year’s accomplishment.
Grandville has 13 back, including Ingrid Vredevoogd, Kelsey Russell, Mackenzie Brower, Carly Landstra, Rachel Anglim, Skyler Stauffer, McKenzie Wezeman, Daelyn Weir, Kaley Schuitema, Olivia Calvin, Jaycie Schultz, Claire Baker and Paige Gkekas.
“We’re not as experienced as last year’s team was, but they looked amazing in Rounds 1 and 2 at the first meet at Comstock Park,” Smith-Boyd said. “I looked at the scores and they were almost identical to the same time last year. We do have the target on our back, but I just want them to do their best.”
The Bulldogs are vowing not to be satisfied with last year’s memorable feat.
“We’re just really powerful, and I feel like we have this drive to do it again,” Weir, a junior, said. “And since we’re state champs, we feel like we have to work even harder at it to be champs again.”
Vredevoogd, one of eight seniors, echoed those sentiments. She said the team understands the challenges awaiting it in defending the title.
“We talked in practice how for teams that didn’t win last year it’s almost easier to reach for it because there is something to strive for,” she said. “It’s almost harder to stay at the top, so our focus is to work hard to stay there instead of taking steps back. We have girls back who know what the state finals felt like, and the girls from the JV have jumped right in. We’ve hit the ground running.”
Within the program, expectations never change. Smith-Boyd doesn’t allow it.
“I don’t really lower the bar; I just don’t,” she said. “And the girls coming up know that. The bar keeps going up and up the more talented and the more skilled they become. They just rise to the occasion, and we keep getting girls to come out for it. They work so hard, and I really like this group.”
The tradition of the program motivates each team member. They don’t want to disappoint previous teams and are focused to live up to the high standards.
“A lot of the alumni will come back, especially during state week, and they will talk to us about their experiences,” Vredevoogd said. “It just motivates us to carry on what they’ve built up, and especially Julie. There is a lot to be proud of and a lot to be excited to be a part of.”
Said Weir: “I feel like we always have the pressure, only because we’ve always had so many teams in the past that have been really good so we all feel like we have to be like that.”
A close bond also has formed among this year’s group.
“We all love each other and love to be around each other,” Weir said. “We’re a family, and being at practice is fun.”
While the opportunity to contend for another MHSAA title would be ideal, Smith-Boyd simply hopes for the best from her team.
“That would be super cool, but if we don’t get it I want them to have a great year,” Smith-Boyd said. “For it to be exciting, memorable and fun.”
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) Grandville competes during Round 3 of last season's MHSAA Division 1 Final at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex. (Middle) Coach Julie Smith-Boyd prepares to guide her athletes during competition.