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.
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.
Notre Dame Prep Repeats D3 Dominance
March 7, 2015
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – As the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep competitive cheer team exited the mat after their final round, several of the girls raised two fingers up and pointed toward their cheering section.
The Fighting Irish refused to be coined one-hit wonders.
A year after capturing the program’s first MHSAA title, Notre Dame Prep repeated in Saturday’s Division 3 Competitive Cheer Final at The DeltaPlex.
“Our theme this year was ‘more than one’,” Fighting Irish coach Beth Campbell said. “It’s been a steady climb for us the last few years and we’re so proud of our kids.”
Notre Dame Prep led from start to finish, cementing back-to-back championships with the Final’s high scores in all three rounds and a 773.68 total.
The Fighting Irish held off a challenge from Richmond, which tallied a score of 767.70 and placed among the top two for the fourth time in five years.
Armada (761.90) was third, while perennial contender Comstock Park (759) suffered a fall in Round 3 and slipped to fourth.
“We knew Richmond and Comstock Park wanted to win and bring it back to their schools, but we knew we had the talent and we stayed focused on us,” said Campbell, whose team went undefeated throughout the season in Division 3.
“Anytime you are the defending state champions there’s a target on your back, and the year before we were underdogs. I feel like defending a state championship was 25 times harder. Keeping it was a real challenge, but I think my girls decided a long time ago that they were going to defend it.”
It’s believed that the Fighting Irish achieved a school milestone as well with their second straight title.
“I’m pretty sure we’re the first sport in school history to win state titles back-to-back, so that’s an honor right there,” senior Alysa Gonzalez said. “And we also have 16 team tucks in Round 3 and only one other school has that and they are not in our division. It’s just remarkable.”
Senior Olivia Riley never imagined ending her competitive cheer career with a pair of MHSAA Finals crowns.
“I never dreamed coming into high school that I would be winning two state championships, but here I am,” she said. “There was definitely a lot of pressure on us, but we worked hard all year and we knew it would work out in the end.”
Notre Dame Prep was fueled all season by an inner drive to succeed, but also stayed focused on the task at hand.
“This team has been consistent all year long,” Campbell said. “We don’t always have our perfect rounds, but we deliver in every single round. We stayed the course, and it was closer than we would’ve liked, but our team was so focused on what their goal was. They kept taking it one round at a time and didn’t get ahead of themselves.”
The Fighting Irish scored 233.50 in Round 1 to gain the early momentum. They carried it over into the final two rounds with scores of 226.48 and 313.70, respectively.
“We know every year if you win Round 1, you win a state championship, and so we knew we had to get our lead in Round 1,” Riley said.
Richmond was within two points of Notre Dame Prep in each round, but was unable to gain any ground.
Still, Blue Devils coach Kelli Matthes was thrilled with the effort by her team.
“We’re happy,” she said. “We wanted to come in today and have our best three rounds of the year. The kids have worked hard to clean up all the bits and pieces the last two weeks in Districts and Regionals.
“Are some of the kids disappointed? Well sure, everybody wants to win, but they’re going home with a trophy and a medal around their neck.”
Richmond finished outside of the top two a year ago with an inexperienced team, and this year’s squad also was youthful with only three seniors.
Its roster consisted of 12 sophomores and seven freshmen.
“Last year our team was extremely young and new, and this year we still had 19 of our 24 kids who were underclassmen,” Matthes said. “Our senior leadership has been fabulous, and our goal all year was to keep on plugging and that’s what we did.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Notre Dame Prep finishes a routine en route to repeating as Division 3 champion. (Middle) Runner-up Richmond competes Saturday at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex.