Downriver Dominates Again as Allen Park Leads League's top 3 in 3-Peat
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 5, 2022
GRAND RAPIDS – Allen Park senior captain Adri Carone answered the question before it was even asked.
“It never, ever, ever gets old,” said Carone with a big smile, after helping her team secure its third-consecutive Division 2 championship Saturday morning at the Delta Plex.
“I can honestly say it feels just as amazing every time.”
The Jaguars had their huge throng of fans sweating it out, but another powerhouse Round 3 performance was the difference as Allen Park (791.60) edged upset-minded Downriver League rival Gibralter Carlson (788.02).
Southgate Anderson placed third with 773.54 points, giving the nine-school Downriver League the top three spots in the state in Division 2 – and the same order of finish as the league tournament and last week’s Regional.
Carlson made things interesting by taking the lead by one tenth of a point after Round 1, then still hung within a razor-thin, 0.38 of a point after Round 2.
It came down to a test of physical and mental discipline in the final round, and that’s when Allen Park’s tradition and experience showed through.
“Round 3 has been our strength all year, and that was the case again today,” said veteran Allen Park coach Julie Goodwin, now in her 16th year. “We have amazing stunters who rise to the challenge.”
Carlson went last in the final round and delivered a fantastic performance of its own. The Marauders’ third-round score of 317.30 was more than five points better than six other teams – all but Allen Park.
The Jaguars, going sixth out of the eight teams in the last round, scored a 320.60 – pushing them over 790 points for the sixth time in their last seven competitions.
“I am so proud of this team because we worked so hard this season – day after day after day,” said Cassidy Kuhn, one of two returning senior all-staters for Allen Park, along with Carone. “Today just feels like a dream.”
Kuhn and Carone are two of nine seniors for the Jaguars, who will leave with a runner-up finish as freshmen and championships the past three years. Other seniors were Kirstyn Ferguson, Sharlotte Kehr, Cassidy Reardon, Emily Unger, Makenzy Varner, Mackenzie Waddell and Cara Wischow.
Dearborn Divine Child placed fourth, followed by last year’s runner-up, DeWitt.
First-year Carlson coach Alyssa Tocco knows all about the Allen Park cheer program. Tocco was a standout and 2016 graduate of Allen Park, who coached the past five years at Plymouth before taking over a Gibralter Carlson program which has won 11 Finals titles (the last in 2019) and now has seven runner-up finishes.
“I am so proud of this team because 18 of the 23 girls we brought here are at the state finals for the very first time,” said Tocco, who had just three seniors on the roster. “They truly are the hardest-working team I’ve ever met.”
Goodwin gave a special shoutout to the Allen Park community, which seemingly abandoned town Saturday morning and packed the Delta Plex, shaking the building’s rafters in all three rounds – particularly the pivotal Round 3 as the Jaguars nailed stunt after stunt and landing after landing.
“Our crowd makes us who we are,” said Goodwin, who is assisted by Meaghan Terry, Tina Johnson, Jessica Tremonti, Theresa Couturier and Tera Waddell. “We feed off of them. It takes all of us.”
PHOTOS Allen Park (top) and Gibraltar Carlson (middle) compete during Saturday’s Division 2 Final at Grand Rapids’ Delta Plex. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photo.)
Grandville Finishes Unforgettable Run
March 6, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – Jasmine Martinez doesn’t remember much of what she and her teammates performed during their three rounds on the DeltaPlex mat Friday.
But the Grandville senior has a pretty good idea what she’ll see when she re-watches this season’s MHSAA Division 1 Competitive Cheer Final.
“I think our hearts on the line,” Martinez said. “We just knew we had to do it for each other, for the legacy we had and for the coaches who pushed us harder than we ever thought we could push ourselves.”
Grandville pushed all the way to its first MHSAA title since 2011 and sixth championship in school history.
The Bulldogs first had to push past an early deficit to 12-time champion Rochester, but posted the Final’s high scores for Rounds 2 and 3 to edge the Falcons 786.80-785.34 when the overall scores were tallied.
The close win went well with a close loss to Southgate Anderson at last season’s Final, where Grandville finished runner-up by a mere 2.42 points.
“We have 12 seniors on the team. All of us were at State last year, and we knew what it was like to come that close and have it taken away from us,” Martinez said. “That fueled us all season. From Feb. 28 last year, when we lost, we said we will be state champs March 6, 2015.”
The top four teams Friday were separated by fewer than three points. Rochester Hills Stoney Creek was third at 784.28, and Lake Orion finished fourth at 783.84.
To finish atop such a close, competitive field took a little something extra special. And Grandville coach Julie Smith-Boyd said this team was unlike any other during her 34 years running the program.
The Bulldogs were healthy throughout the winter, allowing them to be strong early and begin fine-tuning their routines in January to eliminate the errors that could’ve shaved valuable tenths of points off their scores.
But Friday took more than skills.
“We had an intangible thing, fire, heart, I don’t know,” Smith-Boyd said. “It was inside them. They were just so determined. I’ve never had a team quite like this before.
“We’ve won six times, and every one is special. But to see them have that almost out-of-body experience, that sounds weird, but I just never really felt that like today.”
Unlike last season, when Grandville was tied for first after Round 1, the Bulldogs trailed Rochester by 1.3 points at that point Friday.
Rochester entered the Final having posted the highest scores in Division 1 this season in all three rounds. But Grandville posted a 230.40 to lead Round 2 on Friday while Rochester came in at 228.84, and the Bulldogs then tied Rochester’s division-best Round 3 score with a 321.00 to finish the meet. The Falcons scored 319.80 in Round 3 to secure second place.
“We really struggled in Round 2, which was a shock to us. That round usually is not a problem, but it was nerves I guess,” Rochester coach Susan Wood said. “We know we were close, but we know that we should not have won. We didn’t have the three rounds that we had (winning) at Regionals and Districts.”
Few know what it takes to be in the championship mix as much as Wood, who also finished her 34th season and has led Rochester to 12 MHSAA titles. The Falcons didn’t make the Finals a year ago, making Friday’s runner-up finish that much more satisfying.
Grandville also experienced a stretch of tough times in 2013 on the way to finishing runner-up last season, including the deaths of two athletes’ mothers that fall after fights with cancer and the deaths of two classmates a year ago this week.
“It’s just special to see them get through it and grow from it,” Smith-Boyd said. “It was amazing.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Grandville takes the mat during Friday’s Division 1 Final at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex. (Middle) Rochester performs its routine during Round 3.