Hanover-Horton Caps Rapid Rise with Season-Best Score to Clinch 1st Title
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
February 28, 2025
MOUNT PLEASANT – Alexyn DuBois started preparing to be a competitive cheer state champion before she was born.
“My mom has been a coach for 25 years, so in the womb I was literally cheering,” said DuBois, a senior all-stater for Hanover-Horton.
“It’s been a part of my whole life, so to go out as a state champion, with my mom as my coach, is a dream come true.”
The DuBois mother-daughter combination was a key part of a truly amazing turnaround story, as Hanover-Horton – which never made it to the Competitive Cheer Finals before last season (when it finished sixth) – broke through with a decisive victory in the Division 4 Final on Friday at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena.
Hanover-Horton, which finished second behind Pewamo-Westphalia at their Regional, flipped the script, taking the lead after Round 1 and continuing to build the lead over the next two rounds.
The Comets posted a season-best score of 772.68 – 4.28 points better than their previous-best score – to hold off P-W (765.62).
Sanford Meridian (757.96) took third, and Hudson (752.66) placed fourth – ending the Tigers’ streak of five consecutive D4 titles.
“We needed to set the tone early, and we did that,” said Hanover-Horton coach Sarah DuBois, who is in her fourth year as the Comets’ coach after a successful 21-year run at nearby Vandercook Lake. “Starting strong gave our girls the feeling that this could be our day.”
Hanover-Horton, which had eight seniors on its 21-athlete roster, held a one-tenth of a point lead over P-W after Round 1, but Coach DuBois said it was the team’s emphasis all last week on Round 2 which proved to be the difference.
The Comets extended the lead to more than five full points with a powerhouse Round 2 performance.
“Round 2 was what cost us last week at Regionals, so we had to pull that up,” said DuBois, who brought in some of her former athletes from her days at Vandercook Lake last week to work with the team. “We really fine-tuned Round 2, and that was huge.”
Alexyn DuBois, also a standout pitcher on the Comets’ softball team who has committed to pitch at Spring Arbor next year, is the team’s leader and only returning first-team all-stater. Senior Maddy Sauber was second-team all-state, and senior Reyna Collins was honorable mention in 2024.
DuBois was a team captain, along with fellow seniors Delainey Cottrell and Sophie Schuette.
The seniors really helped the Comets elevate their game to a championship level this winter. After posting a top score of 739.86 last year, they finished this season topping 760 points in all of their final four competitions, including going over the 770 plateau on Friday.
“We knew we had to come out today and breathe fire,” explained Cottrell. “That’s what our team motto was. That’s what we needed to do to beat all of these other good teams.”
Other seniors for Hanover-Horton were Lexi VanGelder, Trinity Jones and Madison Gillett.
Pewamo-Westphalia, which came in as the favorite after a dominating victory at Regionals, couldn’t produce the same magic at CMU.
The Pirates placed second for the fourth time over the past six years, since their last title won in 2019.
“The girls are disappointed, but they put in three amazing rounds, so I’m not disappointed at all,” said P-W coach Staci Myers.
The other storyline coming into Friday was Hudson’s attempt to tie a state record with six consecutive Finals titles. The Tigers couldn’t overcome a slow start, ensuring Gibraltar Carlson’s place atop the MHSAA record book with six consecutive titles won from 2011 to 2016.
On this day, in a sport which is traditionally dominated by powerhouse programs, it was time for Cascades Conference champion Hanover-Horton to rule the state as well and join that elite group.
“Taking second at Regionals was a driving force for us to get better,” explained Alexyn DuBois. “During our cheer, we say ‘etched in stone.’ Today it was our turn to etch our school’s name in stone.”
PHOTOS (Top) Hanover-Horton raises its championship trophy Saturday at McGuirk Arena. (Middle) Pewamo-Westphalia competes during the Division 4 Final.
Allen Park Extends Era of Dominance with 5th Title Over 6 Seasons
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
MOUNT PLEASANT – Allen Park sure makes it look easy during pressure-packed competitive cheer competitions, and veteran coach Julie Goodwin has an explanation for that.
“All of the hard work goes on during the week, in the gym,” explained Goodwin, who just finished her 21st year as the Jaguars’ coach.
“Today, or any competition we have, we get to dress up and pick up a trophy. But we actually won it in the gym.”
Allen Park picked up yet another trophy Saturday at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena, winning its second-consecutive Division 2 Finals championship – and the fifth over the past six years.
The Jaguars posted the best score in the eight-team field in all three rounds, taking the lead early and continuing to build on it, finishing with 791.90 points.
Gibraltar Carlson, AP’s longtime conference rival, kept the pressure on the Jaguars all day, taking second at 788.42. Carleton Airport (784.16) took third, and Walled Lake Western (779.68) placed fourth.
Allen Park got the upper hand again over Carlson in one of the state’s best high school rivalries, in any sport.
Consider: It has been 18 years, all the way back to 2007 (Holland Christian), since a school other than Allen Park or Gibraltar Carlson has won the Division 2 cheer title. Carlson has won 11 championships, and AP now has seven over that span.
“We love it,” explained Allen Park senior Abby Obrycki, a returning first-team all-stater. “We are so lucky to have such good competition in the Downriver League to push as all the time. We love being a part of it.”
The Jaguars defeated Carlson at the Regional by more than seven points, but Saturday, the Marauders cut that margin significantly.
Carlson, which won the Division 2 title in 2023 and took fourth last year, trailed by just over two points Saturday entering the decisive third round. The Marauders were in the unenviable position of going first in Round 3, but led by seniors Sofia Lanzini, Maranda Steinmetz and Haley Sanchez, they came up with a stellar final performance.
That meant it came down to Allen Park having to answer under the pressure of thousands of fans on the state’s biggest stage, which it did in impressive fashion once again.
“We call that third round the money round because that’s where you have to win it, even though we had a little bit of a lead going into it today,” said Goodwin, who also has five runner-up finishes in her career. “We had a great week, and it showed in that final round. There was no fear and no nervousness.”
Allen Park scored 321.90 in Round 3, slightly better than Carlson’s 320.80, to provide the final margin of victory.
Other leaders for the Jaguars this season were junior Sophia Ramey, a returning first-team all-stater, and senior Peyton Will, an honorable mention choice.
Allen Park is a young team, losing just five seniors off its 23-girl roster, making a ‘three-peat’ a definite possibility. Other seniors were Leslie Hernandez, Kate O’Riley and Ella Peschke.
Peschke said going out as a back-to-back champion makes the grind and all of the long, six days of practice every week more than worth it.
“It felt great to leave it all out on the mat one more time,” said Peschke. “It’s a great feeling to be a state champion, but it’s an even better feeling to do it with your best friends.”
PHOTOS Allen Park (top) and Gibraltar Carlson compete Saturday during the Division 2 Competitive Cheer Final at McGuirk Arena.