D4 Preview: Huskies Hunt for 3-Peat
March 3, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It’s tough to overstate how dominant Breckenridge’s cheer program has been since returning to the mat at the start of the 2014-15 season.
But neither of those first two Division 4 championship seasons was accompanied by as much success as this winter’s Huskies have enjoyed.
Below are glances at all eight Division 4 teams competing beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday. All four Finals will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a subscription basis.
ADRIAN MADISON
Rank: No. 4.
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Coach: Emily Gafford, eighth season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 758.16 at District.
Team composition: 17 total (four seniors, three juniors, six sophomores, four freshmen).
Outlook: Madison is making its first trip to the Finals since 2011 after also winning its first District title since that season. The Trojans are surging with their top two scores coming in the District and Regional, even as that Regional score placed the team fourth, its only finish below third and one of only two lower than second this winter. Madison’s best Round 3 of 314.2 leads Division 3. Seniors Bre Anna Collins and Emily Hindes earned all-region honorable mentions last season.
BRECKENRIDGE
Rank: No. 1.
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Co-coaches: Deb Gaines, 32nd season; Jenna Graham, ninth season.
Championship history: Nine MHSAA titles (most recent 2016), one runner-up finish.
Top score: 774.32.
Team composition: Nine total (three seniors, two juniors, four sophomores).
Outlook: It’s been an incredible run for Breckenridge, which has won the last two Division 4 titles and finished first in all of its events this season despite having half as many athletes as a year ago. The Huskies’ high score also is higher than at this time last year and would rank among the top five in Divisions 2 or 3; their average overall score of 749.4 is 26 points higher than second-place Madison’s. Senior Harley Conklin, junior Kasey Conn and sophomore Olivia Mayle made the all-state first team in 2016, and senior Madison Smith made the second team.
FARWELL
Rank: No. 5.
League finish: First in Jack Pine Conference.
Coach: Taylor Bryant, fifth season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 751.86.
Team composition: 13 total (seven juniors, five sophomores, one freshman).
Outlook: Farwell doesn’t have a senior this season, but its top overall score is nearly 50 points higher than at this time a year ago and it’s moved up from second to first in the Jack Pine Conference. The Eagles will next try to improve on their eighth place at last season’s Finals; they’ve finished lower than second only once this season. Junior Morgan Nestor earned an all-state honorable mention last season.
HOUGHTON LAKE
Rank: No. 3.
League finish: Second in Jack Pine Conference.
Coach: Celeste Kubiak, 12th season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 752.52.
Team composition: 18 total (nine seniors, seven juniors, two sophomores).
Outlook: Houghton Lake finished fifth last season for the second straight but enters Saturday with a much more experienced lineup that hasn’t finished lower than second this season and has a high overall score 12 points better than when it entered the Finals a year ago. After finishing second to Farwell in the league, the Bobcats finished first ahead of their rival at both the District and Regional. Junior Jessica Whelpley earned all-state honorable mention in 2016.
HUDSON
Rank: No. 2.
League finish: First in Lenawee County Athletic Association.
Coach: Kelly Bailey, 20th season.
Championship history: Four runner-up finishes (most recent 2010).
Top score: 751.30 at Regional.
Team composition: 19 total (nine seniors, four juniors, four sophomores, two freshmen).
Outlook: After four finishes of fourth or higher over the previous four seasons, Hudson fell back to sixth in 2016 but also returns with a high overall score this season nearly 20 points better than at this time a year ago. Hudson’s average overall score of 720.8 ranks third in Division 4, and it won its first league title since 2011. Senior Bobbi Selix made the all-state second team last season, and junior Shiann Martinus earned an honorable mention.
MICHIGAN CENTER
Rank: No. 6.
League finish: First in Cascades Conference.
Coach: Jessica Trefry, 16th season.
Championship history: Five Division 4 titles (most recent 2014), one runner-up finish.
Top score: 758.68 at the Regional.
Team composition: 20 total (four seniors, seven juniors, six sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: Michigan Center improved from third in 2015 to second last winter, and that Regional score is the second-highest overall score in the division this season; the Cardinals’ round high scores all rank among the top four as well. They’ve cleared 740 points in three of their last four competitions. Sophomore Ayana Santana made the all-state first team last season, while senior Kamryn Barrett made the second team and senior Bethany Thrall and sophomore Carlee Lally earned honorable mentions.
PEWAMO-WESTPHALIA
Rank: No. 7.
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Coach: Staci Myers, 10th season.
Championship history: Eight MHSAA titles (most recent 2010), 10 runner-up finishes.
Top score: 744.92.
Team composition: 12 total (three seniors, three juniors, three sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: The Pirates remain one of the most accomplished cheer programs in MHSAA history and bounced back this winter after missing the Finals by two places at their Regional in 2016. Their average total score of 718.5 ranks fourth in the division, and P-W has broken 720 points in five straight events. Senior Nicole Schafer made the all-region second team in 2016, and senior Bailey Fandel earned an honorable mention.
SHELBY
Rank: Unranked.
League finish: First in West Michigan Conference.
Coach: Penny Grinage-Guy, 19th season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 733.44 at Regional.
Team composition: 18 total (four seniors, five juniors, three sophomores, six freshmen).
Outlook: Shelby jumped a spot from eighth in 2015 to seventh last season and has improved significantly over their last five competitions, breaking 679 four times after topping out at 661 prior. Shelby shines in Round 3, where its top score this season (304.2) ranks seventh in the division. Senior Calee Monroe made the all-region second team last winter, and junior Makenzie Allen earned honorable mention.
PHOTO: Farwell is one of six teams returning from last season’s Division 4 Finals.
Southgate Anderson Seniors Key 3-Peat
March 1, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – When Southgate Anderson’s seniors were sophomores two years ago, they played huge roles in the Titans winning their first MHSAA competitive cheer championship.
And because those sophomores already acted like seniors even then, coach Colette Norscia felt pretty confident that title was only a start.
Her hunch was correct. That group of seven athletes, now seniors, led Anderson to its third straight MHSAA title Friday at the DeltaPlex,
The Titans scored 785.96 points, 2.42 more than runner-up Grandville after both trailed Rochester Hills Stoney Creek by three tenths of a point after Round 1.
“We’ve been cheering together since we were really little, and we stuck with it all through these years,” Anderson senior Holly Zmijewski said. “We just want to prove who we are, and that we don’t go backward. We just keep going forward.”
But it took a little kick to get the Titans rolling again.
Anderson competes in the Downriver League, which also includes reigning Division 2 champion Gibraltar Carlson and Finals qualifiers Allen Park and Trenton. The Titans finished second at their league competition, four points back of Carlson, which is nothing to scoff but disappointed those seniors nonetheless.
But it also brought perspective to underclassmen who weren’t yet part of the program prior to this championship run.
Norscia knew walking into the DeltaPlex on Friday that her team was prepared every possible way.
“It’s hard to get it, but it’s harder to keep it every year,” Norscia said. “The kids, once they have it, not all of them are so gung-ho about keeping it, working to that level, and I think we got scrutinized a little bit more as well.
“Those sophomores on the team that first year we won, they were strong and carried us through,” she added. “They learned a lot from that senior group, and they’ve been teaching each group that comes in. Our next two classes are just as strong, and actually our eighth grade group is incredible.”
All seven seniors – Marisa Laginess, Madison Small, Zmijewski, Jacklyn Carrico, Haley Evans, Aleta Madera and Brittany Walton – earned all-state honors as juniors.
Stoney Creek set the pace with a 235.20 to lead Round 1. But Anderson posted the highest Round 2 score in Division 2 this season and put up a 231.46 on Friday, two points better than both Stoney Creek and Grandville.
Grandville responded with a strong 319.20 in Round 3. But that was bested by only Anderson, by four tenths of a point.
“It’s hard to have to go out there three times, and have to peak three times, and we did,” Grandville coach Julie Smith-Boyd said. “We weren’t playing defense. … We were going for it. We wanted to win.
“But when you’re a senior, or even for any of these girls, we want them to go out just feeling great about it. They gave their all, did their best, and it was that way every single round. We’re just really proud of them.”
The Bulldogs improved from eighth at the 2012 Final to fourth last season to second and have only six seniors – including only two in Round 2, and with a couple freshmen who contributed in Round 3.
A pair of sad circumstances – two athletes’ mothers died during the fall after fights with breasts cancer – bonded the team as it took another giant step.
“These girls just really bonded together really tight, pulled together and supported each other through the whole thing. And I really felt that made them stronger at the end,” Smith-Boyd said. “Because we said, what we’ve been through was far worse than we have to go out there and do. We made it through that; we can do this.
“We did it the best we could do it. Southgate obviously did too.”
Macomb Dakota ascended from seventh after Round 1 to finished third in the final standings. Lake Orion, eighth after Round 1, came in fourth in its return to the Finals after missing last season.
PHOTOS: (Top) Southgate Anderson performs its Round 3 routine Friday at the DeltaPlex. (Middle) Grandville, this season’s runner-up, improved from fourth place in 2013. (Click for action and team photos from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)