With Focus on Returning to MHSAA Finals, T-K Soars to Impressive Start

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com

January 20, 2022

MIDDLEVILLE – Thornapple-Kellogg senior Anna Benedict remembers competing in Rocket Cheer when she was in elementary school and looking up to the varsity cheerleaders who were there helping her.

Those same girls made it to the MHSAA Finals in competitive cheer, and Benedict aspired one day to reach the same level as her role models.

“I was coached by those girls, and as a little girl that was my dream,” Benedict said. “I wanted to go to the state finals when I was in the cheer program, and it would be so awesome to be back there.”

The Trojans haven’t appeared in the Finals since 2015, when they placed fifth in Division 2, but they are currently in the process of changing that.

A successful start to this season has created a belief that a return to the Finals is within reach.

“There is so much motivation,” T-K senior Zoey Thomas said. “We practice in the big gym and we have all our banners with the different sports, and that is one of our biggest motivations.

“Our coach will point up at the banners and will talk about adding years to conference, Districts, Regionals and state.”

Thomas, a three-sport athlete like many on the team, wants to end her time at the school competing with the best in the state.

“We haven’t been there since 2015, and personally, one of my goals is to end my high school career by going to state in one of my three sports,” Thomas said. “It would be so cool to go for competitive cheer my senior year.”

While the Finals are still more than six weeks away, the Trojans are on an upward trajectory.

T-K is perfect so far this season, the latest win coming in Wednesday’s first Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold jamboree.

The Trojans also won their own invitational last weekend by producing season-high scores in every round.

Prior to that, they captured victories at the West Catholic Invitational and Blue Devil Invitational.

Middleville Thornapple Kellogg competitive cheer“We’ve had a strong start for sure, and we are just trying to keep the momentum moving throughout the season and into Districts, hopefully Regionals and even going for the state finals,” T-K coach Adrian Sinkler said. “The biggest thing I keep telling them is to be consistent and just go out and have fun. We have to have stronger performances every time, and so far they’ve definitely done that.”

Fourteen athletes make up this year’s team, led by six experienced seniors.

Other key standouts include seniors Ruby Frei and Aundria Robbe, junior Presley Hall and sophomores Mali Holland, Kenady Smith and Ava Jahnke.

“We are not a school that goes to the state finals every year,” Benedict said. “So it would be cool to show that we can do it. Our season has played out well so far, and we all want it so bad. This team is willing to try anything to try and do it.”

The Trojans currently have the fourth-highest score (719.9) in Division 2, but they are not settling.

“We’ve had good success so far, but we have to continue to put in the work and not get comfortable,” Benedict said. “We have to understand that nothing will be given. Every competition is different, and you can’t predict anything. We can’t stop working hard and we just have to better ourselves.”

Added Thomas: “It took a lot of work to get to this point, and it’s not something that has come easy. It’s been hours upon hours of just cleaning, fixing and changing things. It’s been grueling work, but absolutely worth it, and it’s paid off so far. We're not done yet.”

Sinkler has an invested interest in the program as an alumnus.

She was a member of the first Trojans team to qualify for the Finals in 2012.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been there, and we’re trying to get them to go back,” Sinkler said. “They mesh really well and get along while also keeping each other in check, respectfully.

“They are different kids, and they are very calm, collected and very coachable. That keeps them pushing for something bigger. We have a big senior class and this is their last shot, so they want to leave a legacy and leave their seeds of knowledge back to the underclassmen.”

T-K has been solid in all three rounds, but especially its third.

A few tweaks have been made to improve the complexity and energy in that round, and it’s led to an enhanced confidence level.

“We made some changes a few weeks ago because we just weren’t loving the ending of it,” Sinkler said. “As a coach, it just didn’t do it for me and it didn’t give me that ‘wow,’ so we changed it. It’s definitely worked in our favor.”

Benedict said the third round has become the Trojans’ favorite.

“We’ve gotten better since the changes, and we’ve added a lot of difficulty,” she said. “As the round goes on, the stunts get more difficult, and that’s what makes it so good and so fun to watch.”

Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for four years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties. 

PHOTOS (Top) Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg celebrates its championship at its invitational Saturday. (Middle) The Trojans are seeking to reach their first MHSAA Finals in competitive cheer since 2015. (Photos courtesy of the T-K competitive cheer program.)

Gibraltar Carlson Conquers D2 Again

March 2, 2019

By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half

GRAND RAPIDS – Nothing can slow down the Gibraltar Carlson competitive cheer dynasty.

The Marauders – who had won 10 MHSAA titles, including seven of the past eight in Division 2 – came into this season with a first-year coach and just three seniors.

No worries, as the young Carlson team notched title No. 11 with a powerhouse performance Saturday morning in the Division 2 Finals at the Delta Plex.

“We are motivated to keep the dynasty alive, for all the girls that came before and those that are to come,” said first-year coach Ann Hajec, who was a first-team all-stater on Carlson’s 2013 championship team. “We knew it would be close again with Allen Park, it has been all year, but we had enough in Round 3 to pull it out.”

Hajec said the emotions of the Finals are similar as a coach to those she felt as a competitor.

“The heart and fire I feel are the same, but I just have to put it into the girls,” said Hajec, who is assisted by Jordyn Hodge, Tam Christiansen, Emily Howard and Kourtney Tyra.

Carlson got off to a great start in Round 1, then clinched the title with a dominating Round 3, where years of tradition and great expectations came together in a powerful finish. The Marauders won with a three-round total of 791.40.

Pushing Carlson to greater heights, as it has all season and, frankly, the past four years, was Downriver League rival Allen Park.

While Friday night’s Division 1 Finals turned into “The Battle of Rochester” (with Stoney Creek prevailing over Adams), Saturday morning quickly became “The Battle of Downriver” between Carlson and Allen Park.

The Jaguars, who bested Carlson at the conference tournament last month, used the meet’s best score in Round 2 to pull within one point heading into Round 3, but were unable to take the next step.

Allen Park took second with 787.92, followed by Muskegon Mona Shores (777.92) and Dearborn Divine Child (771.94).

It marked the third time in the past four years that Allen Park finished runner-up to Carlson. Allen Park won the championship in 2017.

 “We go neck-and-neck with them all the time, so this was nothing new,” said 14th-year Allen Park coach Julie Goodwin, who said the draw, with her team going first in the crucial third round, may have played a factor in the outcome. “Going into that last round, I told them to go out and have fun and do what they do. I thought we performed very well.”

Hajec became the fifth coach to lead Carlson to a Finals championship.

Carlson’s first title came in Class B back in 1995 under Pat Christiansen. The Marauders then won four titles between 2008 and 2012 under Christina Wilson, two in 2013 and 2014 under Danielle Jokela and then three in the past four years led by Aryn Ziesmer.

Carlson’s 11 Finals championships are second in state history behind Rochester’s 14 titles. Breckenridge is third with 10.

Carlson senior Summer Bojarski, along with McKinley Gessner and Kennedy Turner, are the only seniors on this year’s Carlson team. The future continues to be bright with seven sophomores and seven freshmen on the team.

“I personally have such a satisfied feeling right now because I know I did my job and kept the dynasty going for another year,” said Bojarski. “I wanted to show the younger girls that in order to win, you have to want it more than anything else. You have to love the sport, because that energy shows when you’re out on the mat.”

Bojarski is a returning all-stater from last season, along with sophomore Maguire Lindisch. Stewart, junior Sarah Klim and sophomore Alex Stewart all made second team all-state last year, and juniors Rylee Demers and Elliah Shank were honorable mention.

Cedar Springs placed fifth, followed by DeWitt, Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills and Walled Lake Western.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS: (Top) Gibraltar Carlson performs a routine during its run to the Division 2 title Saturday morning. (Middle) Allen Park finished runner-up to the league rival Jaguars.