D3 Preview: Powers Converge Again
March 6, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three teams that have combined to win the last four Division 3 competitive cheer championships again will contend at Saturday’s MHSAA Final.
Pontiac Notre Dame, Richmond and Comstock Park annually help finish the weekend’s final session, starting at 6 p.m. But five others are seeking their first MHSAA cheer titles – including two that have posted scores among the top four in the division this winter.
Following are glances at all eight Division 3 teams competing at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex. All four Finals will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a subscription basis.
ARMADA
Rank: No. 5
League finish: Second in Blue Water Area Conference.
Coach: Tammi St. Onge, fourth season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 771.12 at the Regional.
Team composition: 26 total (two seniors, nine juniors, three sophomores, 12 freshmen).
Outlook: Armada will return to the Finals for the second straight season after finishing fifth in 2014 and emerging from a District and Regional over the last two weeks that both featured the top two-ranked teams in the division. The Tigers have posted their top two scores of the season the last two weeks and own the top Round 3 score (320.8) in Division 3 this winter – that score also ranks third for all divisions combined. Junior Natalie Groen and sophomore Aja Bagley made the all-region second team last season.
COMSTOCK PARK
Rank: No. 3.
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue.
Coach: Kathy Felty, 25th season.
Championship history: Division 3 champions 2011 and 2009, three runner-up finishes.
Top score: 769.48 at the Regional.
Team composition: 21 overall (11 seniors, three juniors, five sophomores, two freshmen).
Outlook: After a fourth place in 2013, Comstock Park moved back up to second at last season’s Final for its sixth top-two finish in seven seasons. The Panthers won all but four of their competitions this season, finishing second the other times, and have scored 763 points three of their last four events including wins at the District and Regional. A number of veterans will lead the title surge this weekend; seniors Sabrina Arnone and Brianna Pincombe made the all-state first team last season, while senior Hayley Robinson and sophomore Alyssa Geraghty made the second and senior Alexis Donley earned an honorable mention.
HOWARD CITY TRI-COUNTY
Rank: Unranked.
League finish: Second in Lakes 8 Conference.
Coach: Jennifer Laskey, ninth season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 732.72 at the Regional.
Team composition: 19 total (four seniors, seven juniors, four sophomores, four freshmen).
Outlook: Tri-County will make a second straight trip to the Finals after placing eighth last season. The Vikings also made their fifth straight Regional this winter and posted their top two scores the last two weekends. Senior Emily Rienks and junior Taylor Stressman earned all-region honorable mentions last season.
LAKE ODESSA LAKEWOOD
Rank: No. 4.
League finish: First in Greater Lansing Activities Conference.
Coach: Kim Martin, 21st season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 767.46.
Team composition: 21 total (10 seniors, six juniors, five sophomores).
Outlook: The Vikings are back in the Finals after missing last season and finishing eighth in 2013, and they’ve taken first or second in all of their events this season. Lakewood especially shines in Round 1, where its best score of 235.7 is the best in Division 3. The Vikings finished second in the Regional and earned a District title. Junior Samantha Morrison made the all-region second team in 2014.
ONSTED
Rank: No. 9.
League finish: First in Lenawee County Athletic Association.
Coach: Sarah Spears, second season.
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1994.
Top score: 770.66 at the Regional.
Team composition: 22 total (seven seniors, two juniors, six sophomores, seven freshmen).
Outlook: Onsted opened this season with nine first places in its first 10 events and have returned to the MHSAA Finals for the first time since 2007, when Spears was a junior. She’s also led the Wildcats to league titles in both of her seasons and some impressive scores this winter – the top overall score is fourth-highest in Division 3, and their best Round 3 of 317.1 ranks second. Senior Lauren Richardson made the all-region second team last season.
PAW PAW
Rank: No. 10.
League finish: First in Wolverine Conference.
Coach: Stefanie Miller, sixth season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 746.68 at the District.
Team composition: 16 total (six seniors, seven juniors, three sophomores).
Outlook: Paw Paw has posted top-seven Finals finishes each of the last three seasons and will enter Saturday having posted two of its top three scores over the last two weekends. The Redskins opened this season by winning eight straight events and have broken 735 points three of the last four. Senior Chloe Bogema made the all-state first team last season, while senior Rylee Cunningham made the second and senior Maya Bishop earned an honorable mention.
PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP
Rank: No. 1.
League finish: Second in the Detroit Catholic League.
Coach: Beth Campbell, third season.
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2014, runner-up 2013.
Top score: 781.08 at the Regional.
Team composition: 29 total (seven seniors, six juniors, seven sophomores, nine freshmen).
Outlook: The reigning Division 3 champion has arguably been even better in 2014-15 with a top score entering the weekend 17 points higher than a year ago. Notre Dame Prep has the top Round 2 (231.18) and overall scores in Division 3 this winter and its average score (763.524) is nearly 12 points higher than the field. The Fighting Irish have broken 760 points in nine of 11 events. Seniors Alysa Gonzalez and Emily Schiavi made the all-state first team last season, while seniors Olivia Riley and Morgan Gales made the second team and juniors Paige Lombardo and Hannah Brzustewicz earned honorable mentions.
RICHMOND
Rank: No. 2.
League finish: First in Blue Water Area Conference.
Coach: Kelli Matthes, seventh season.
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2013 and 2012, runner-up 2011.
Top score: 772.4 at the Regional.
Team composition: 24 total (three seniors, two juniors, 12 sophomores, seven freshmen).
Outlook: The Blue Devils finished fourth last season but have posted the second-highest overall score in Division 3 and have the second-highest average score (751.875) despite a team mostly made up of underclassmen. Seniors Sarahanne Marshall and Angel Deal made the all-state second team last season, and junior Emily Fitzsimons and sophomore Kaleigh Taylor earned honorable mentions.
PHOTO: Pontiac Notre Dame Prep claimed its first MHSAA title last season after finishing Division 3 runner-up in 2012-13.
Richmond Adds Repeat to Seniors' Legacy
March 7, 2020
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – For years, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep had Richmond’s number.
Richmond finished runners-up in Division 3 to the Fighting Irish for four straight seasons from 2015 to 2018, before finally breaking through with the school’s third competitive cheer Finals championship last year.
“We were fighting every year to get over that hump, and then we got over it and then the fear set in: Can we do it again?” said Kelly Matthes, who is in her 30th year of coaching cheerleading and 12th as head coach at Richmond.
The Blue Devils answered their coach’s question with a resounding “yes” on Saturday evening, leading from start to finish and capturing their second-consecutive Division 3 title at the Delta Plex with 784.28 points.
Notre Dame Prep (779.18) took runner-up for the second consecutive year, followed by Paw Paw (777.08) and Croswell-Lexington (774.46).
Richmond came out laser-focused, dominating the first two rounds and building a 3.2-point lead heading into Round 3.
Then things got interesting, at least for a moment. Richmond, which went second in the final round, was not nearly as sharp as in the first two rounds. The Blue Devils had a couple of wobbles, but held it together and finished their challenging open round routine in style.
“We had a small little issue in that final round, but we practice in case of that,” explained Matthes, who is assisted by Melana Szczesniak and Lauren Riggs. “Don’t expect it to be perfect, and prepare for something to go wrong. They didn’t stop or give up; they just kept going.”
Croswell-Lexington actually had the best score in Round 3, but Richmond’s fast start was far too much to overcome.
“We know we need to build a big lead at the beginning, just in case something goes wrong later on,” said senior Madison Daniel, whose team was champion of the Blue Water Area Conference and won 10 of its 11 competitions. “That was our mindset.”
Daniel was one of three returning senior all-staters for the Blue Devils, along with Emily Mikolasik and Jordan Valentine. Sophomore Makenna Parker was also first team all-state last year, and senior Nicole Logghe was second team.
The other seniors for Richmond were Julia Akerley, Jillian Maksymiuk, Anna Marshall, Madison McEwen, Olivia Poelker and Noelle Riggs.
Those seniors finished among the top two at the Finals all four years of their high school careers – runners-up as freshmen and sophomores and champions as juniors and seniors. Marshall said the turning point came when they stopped being obsessed with Notre Dame Prep, and instead concentrated on their own improvement.
“After 2017, we really focused on ourselves and had tunnel vision,” said Marshall. “That’s how we kept getting better, and today was our best.”
Next year could be a rebuilding year or a reloading year for Richmond, depending on your point of view. On one hand, the team is losing 10 seniors and has only two juniors in Samantha Bryant and Jenna Jaissle. On the other hand, the team also has 28 athletes on its roster.
“The way I look at it, I still have 18 kids returning,” said Matthes, who noted that most of the 10 seniors have been cheering together since they were children at the Richmond youth cheer camp. “These seniors wanted to leave a legacy, and they sure did that.”
Comstock Park place fifth, ahead of Onsted, Berrien Springs and Escanaba.
PHOTOS: (Top) Richmond hoists the Division 3 championship trophy for the second-straight season Saturday at the Delta Plex. (Middle) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep performs its routine on the way to a repeat runner-up finish.