Grandville Cheer Raises Bar in Repeat Bid
December 23, 2015
Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRANDVILLE – Grandville has had one of the elite competitive cheer programs in the state since the sport became MHSAA-sponsored in 1994.
Six championships in Division 1/Class A and eight runner-up finishes over the past 21 years provide undeniable proof of the program’s success under longtime coach Julie Smith-Boyd.
Grandville enters this season as the defending Division 1 champion after notching a narrow victory over another perennial power, Rochester, at last season’s MHSAA Final. It was the Bulldogs’ first title since 2011.
Smith-Boyd, in her 35th year at the helm, said a key to last year’s run was a commitment to conditioning and weight training.
“Last year was the first year that we lifted throughout the season,” Smith-Boyd said. “We have lifted in the past, but once the season started we stopped. It was amazing to me how much stronger they were at the end, and now that we’ve been doing it for over a full year they are so strong.”
The hiring of strength and conditioning coach Tully Chapman has made a world of difference to not only the competitive cheer squad, but other sports at Grandville.
“Everything is so much better and stronger, even with their tumbling,” Smith-Boyd said. “They are showing more athleticism, and it has benefited us so much. The lifting has made them more mentally tough, to get through some things that they didn’t think they could do. We are doing some hard things this year and really mixing it up.”
The added element to the program, combined with the return of several key performers, has the Bulldogs primed to duplicate last year’s accomplishment.
Grandville has 13 back, including Ingrid Vredevoogd, Kelsey Russell, Mackenzie Brower, Carly Landstra, Rachel Anglim, Skyler Stauffer, McKenzie Wezeman, Daelyn Weir, Kaley Schuitema, Olivia Calvin, Jaycie Schultz, Claire Baker and Paige Gkekas.
“We’re not as experienced as last year’s team was, but they looked amazing in Rounds 1 and 2 at the first meet at Comstock Park,” Smith-Boyd said. “I looked at the scores and they were almost identical to the same time last year. We do have the target on our back, but I just want them to do their best.”
The Bulldogs are vowing not to be satisfied with last year’s memorable feat.
“We’re just really powerful, and I feel like we have this drive to do it again,” Weir, a junior, said. “And since we’re state champs, we feel like we have to work even harder at it to be champs again.”
Vredevoogd, one of eight seniors, echoed those sentiments. She said the team understands the challenges awaiting it in defending the title.
“We talked in practice how for teams that didn’t win last year it’s almost easier to reach for it because there is something to strive for,” she said. “It’s almost harder to stay at the top, so our focus is to work hard to stay there instead of taking steps back. We have girls back who know what the state finals felt like, and the girls from the JV have jumped right in. We’ve hit the ground running.”
Within the program, expectations never change. Smith-Boyd doesn’t allow it.
“I don’t really lower the bar; I just don’t,” she said. “And the girls coming up know that. The bar keeps going up and up the more talented and the more skilled they become. They just rise to the occasion, and we keep getting girls to come out for it. They work so hard, and I really like this group.”
The tradition of the program motivates each team member. They don’t want to disappoint previous teams and are focused to live up to the high standards.
“A lot of the alumni will come back, especially during state week, and they will talk to us about their experiences,” Vredevoogd said. “It just motivates us to carry on what they’ve built up, and especially Julie. There is a lot to be proud of and a lot to be excited to be a part of.”
Said Weir: “I feel like we always have the pressure, only because we’ve always had so many teams in the past that have been really good so we all feel like we have to be like that.”
A close bond also has formed among this year’s group.
“We all love each other and love to be around each other,” Weir said. “We’re a family, and being at practice is fun.”
While the opportunity to contend for another MHSAA title would be ideal, Smith-Boyd simply hopes for the best from her team.
“That would be super cool, but if we don’t get it I want them to have a great year,” Smith-Boyd said. “For it to be exciting, memorable and fun.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grandville competes during Round 3 of last season's MHSAA Division 1 Final at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex. (Middle) Coach Julie Smith-Boyd prepares to guide her athletes during competition.
D4 Preview: New Contenders in Mix as Hudson Seeks to Reign Again
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 3, 2022
For five straight seasons, Hudson has finished first or second at the MHSAA Division 4 Competitive Cheer Finals – with the Tigers winning back-to-back championships the last two seasons.
They’re likely the team to chase again Friday at Grand Rapids’ Delta Plex. And an intriguing mix of contenders will attempt to do so.
Pewamo-Westphalia is the only other past champion among the eight finalists, and Montrose and Mason County Central are making the trip for the first time. Beal City is back for the first time in a long time and has posted the highest score not by Hudson in the division, while Addison, Adrian Madison and Lawton are returning finalists aspiring to continue to climb.
Division 4 competition begins at 2 p.m. Friday. Tickets cost $10 and may be bought at the Delta Plex, and all four Finals will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable with a subscription. More information, including the spectator seating chart, is posted at MHSAA.com.
Below is a look at all eight finalists:
ADDISON
League finish: Second in Cascades Conference.
Coach: Haley Miller, second season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 714.54 at Regional.
Team composition: Five total (four seniors, one sophomore).
Outlook: The Panthers finished fifth last season and third in 2020, and have built toward this weekend with three of their top four scores this season coming over their last four competitions. Senior Jenah Hamlin earned a Division 1 all-state honorable mention last season.
ADRIAN MADISON
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Coach: Sarah Kope, third season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 721.26 at Regional
Team composition: 14 total (five seniors, three juniors, three sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: Madison is coming off its second-straight fourth-place Finals finish, and two of the team’s top three scores have come during the postseason. The Trojans have finished first or second in all of their competitions this winter. Junior Kaylee Paulette made the all-region first team last season and seniors Lillian Wager, Julia Mohr and Inessa Aranda are past all-state honorees.
BEAL CITY
League finish: First in Highland Conference
Coach: Bailie Erway, fourth season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 756.59
Team composition: Nine total (four seniors, one sophomore, for freshmen).
Outlook: The Aggies won their District and finished runner-up at their Regional to reach the Finals for the first time since 2001. They’ve broken 700 points four times this winter. Seniors Kyleigh Konwinski and Zeta Zeneberg earned all-District recognition last season.
HUDSON
League finish: First in Lenawee County Athletic Association.
Coach: Kelly Bailey, 25th season
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2021), six runner-up finishes.
Top score: 760.14.
Team composition: 21 total (two seniors, 10 juniors, six sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: Hudson won its second straight and third championship in four seasons a year ago, finishing seven points ahead of the field. The Tigers have scored 750 or more points in seven competitions including the District and Regional as they’ve won all of their events this winter. Senior Maize Sholl and juniors Logan Parks and Cheyenne Eichler made the all-state first team last season, while juniors Annalyse Ames, Isabella Moreno and Ellevera Bean made the second team and sophomore Rylie Bloomer earned an honorable mention.
LAWTON
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference
Coach: Holly James, ninth season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 708.62 at District.
Team composition: Nine total (four juniors, four sophomores, one freshmen).
Outlook: A Lawton team that also was young a year ago has continued to build, earning this second-straight trip to the Finals after finishing seventh in 2021. The team’s top score coming into the Finals is six points higher than a year ago, and Lawton has won all of its competitions while going over 700 points in four of its last six meets. Junior Mikayla Reynolds made the all-state second team last season, and junior Rylee Oxley earned an honorable mention.
MASON COUNTY CENTRAL
League finish: Second in West Michigan Conference
Coach: Cheri Stibitz, 15th season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 720.6
Team composition: Nine total (one senior, six juniors, two sophomores).
Outlook: Stibitz started the Spartans’ program in 2009, and this will be their first trip to the Finals – after also making their first to Regionals. Mason County Central won five invitationals during the regular season and never placed lower than third until coming in fourth (but advancing) last weekend. Juniors Brooke Wood, Geralyn Soberalski and Sarah Houghton and sophomore Emily Adams earned all-Regional recognition in 2021.
MONTROSE
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Coach: Sabrina Urmetz, eighth season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: N/A, but scored 724.26 at District.
Team composition: 13 total (six seniors, two juniors, three sophomores, two freshmen).
Outlook: Montrose has advanced to the Finals for the first time, after finishing third at a Regional that had the top four scores in the division last weekend. The Rams had just missed the Finals with a fifth-place Regional finish a year ago. Senior Bree Owens and junior Felicity LaVigne earned all-Regional honorable mention in 2021.
PEWAMO-WESTPHALIA
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Coach: Staci Myers, 15th season
Championship history: Nine MHSAA titles (most recent 2019), 12 runner-up finishes.
Top score: 680.76.
Team composition: 14 total (two seniors, two juniors, three sophomores, seven freshmen).
Outlook: The Pirates are coming off their second-straight Finals runner-up finish after winning Division 4 in 2019. Half of this team is freshmen, but P-W is anchored by athletes who have made one or more runs at the championship. Senior Halie Myers and junior Emma Flanigan made the all-state second team last season – both also received all-state recognition in 2020 – and sophomore Marissa Harp earned an honorable mention.
PHOTO Hudson competes during Round 3 of last season's Division 4 Finals at Breslin Center. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)