Hudson Completes Championship Climb
March 3, 2018
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – The Hudson competitive cheer team has been a staple at the MHSAA Finals for nearly two decades with 19 appearances, including 18 straight.
But the Tigers had been unable to reach the pinnacle of the sport.
A long time in the making, Hudson’s perseverance finally paid off when it captured that seemingly elusive Division 4 title Saturday at the DeltaPlex.
The Tigers delivered three solid rounds en route to a season-high 769.26 total and the program’s first Finals victory.
Sanford Meridian (756.86) edged Adrian Madison (756.56) for runner-up honors by three tenths of a point.
“I knew it was going to be when the opportunity came,” Hudson coach Kelly Bailey said. “We’ve had great teams in the past, and I knew one time luck would meet with our opportunity, and we would do it. This was the year, and we had a great group of girls.”
The Tigers placed runner-up at the Finals five times, including three straight years from 2008-2010.
They finished a close second again last season to Breckenridge, which didn’t field a team this year after winning three consecutive Finals.
“I’m on cloud nine right now,” Hudson senior Payge Leathers said. “The feeling is unexplainable. This is my fourth year at the state finals, but finally breaking through and winning a state title has been the most overwhelming and exciting experience of my life.”
The Tigers, who won the Lenawee County Athletic Association crown, were ranked No. 5 entering the postseason.
“I knew it from the beginning this year,” Hudson senior Shiann Martinus said. “We clicked so well all year, and I’ve never had a team so bonded. We all wanted the same goal and we did anything to get it, and we got it.
“We were three points away last year so we definitely didn’t want to cut it close this year, and we practiced like crazy.”
Hudson held a slim two-point lead entering the final round, but pulled away from the field with an impressive Round 3.
It capped the meet with a high score of 316.60, eight points better than the next closest team.
“They did a fabulous job in Round 3, and you can’t ask for anything more,” Bailey said. “They were under the most pressure they could be going last and everybody had stuck their cheers. There was two points separating us, and they nailed it.”
Bailey took a different approach to this year’s Finals and didn’t put extra pressure on the team with high expectations.
“We tried to really focus on celebrating our year today, that it wasn’t a competition,” she said. “It was a celebration of our year from the start, and we really focused on having fun. All the work was over, and this is what the hard work was for. They just needed to have a blast today.”
The squad, which featured five seniors, didn’t concentrate on anything but its own effort.
“The whole time nobody focused on a state title,” Martinus said. “We focused on going out to do our best. This (title) comes with it when you do your best.”
Sanford Meridian also had a breakthrough performance in earning its first top-two finish at the Finals.
This was the Mustangs’ third appearance, and they didn’t qualify last year after placing sixth at Regionals.
“We knew we could either take it or be within the top three,” longtime Sanford Meridian coach Val MacKenzie said. “I think our goal was met, and it was a goal we constantly worked toward.”
The Mustangs, who had no seniors on the roster, jumped into contention with a stellar Round 2 that accumulated the highest score of the day, 224.16.
“The girls have worked really hard this year and we’ve really concentrated on our Round 2 with our tumbling and getting back tucks, because we knew that’s what it was going to take to get us where we needed to be,” MacKenzie said. “I’m very proud of how they bought into the program, and they are so dedicated. They are just a good bunch of girls.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Hudson performs a routine on the way to winning the Division 4 title Saturday. (Middle) Sanford Meridian raises its runner-up trophy after its first top-two finish.
Carlson Reclaims D2 Cheer Supremacy
March 3, 2018
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Last season, the Gibraltar Carlson competitive cheer team felt the pain of watching an unprecedented streak come to an end, by the smallest of margins, at the MHSAA Division 2 Final.
The Marauders redeemed themselves a year later, and reclaimed the title that eluded them.
Carlson led wire-to-wire Saturday morning en route to winning the Division 2 championship at the DeltaPlex with a three-round total of 791.98.
“Obviously, losing by .06 is like a knife to the stomach, but I think they definitely took it in stride and took it in,” Marauders coach Ayrn Ziesmer said, referring to the margin that placed her team second instead of first in 2017. “Even this season was a struggle, but we really tried to make sure it was all about the climb, and the final day, because nothing before that really matters.”
Allen Park, which stopped Carlson’s six-year reign at the top last year, placed runner-up this time tallying a 786.58.
It was the Marauders’ 10th MHSAA title. They’ve won it nine times in the last 11 years and finished runner-up the two years they didn’t win.
“Winning is a feeling you can’t get anywhere else in life, and coming from a program like Carlson it is really difficult to lose,” Ziesmer said. “So bringing the title back after that loss was super important and the best feeling ever.”
Emily Scheffler, one of six Carlson seniors, said last year’s runner-up finish provided the perfect motivation.
“It really just broke our hearts, but it fueled our fire,” she said. “Coming back into this season we knew we could do it, and we did it.”
Carlson produced high scores in each round. It opened with a 237.80 in Round 1 and followed with a 232.08 in Round 2 to build a three-point advantage entering the final round.
Ziesmer said she didn’t know where her team stood throughout the competition.
“I didn’t look at scores today so I had no idea where we had fallen in any of the rounds, and it made it that much more fun,” she said. “I think the girls liked not knowing where they were, and I had nothing to say to them other than go out and do your best.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything more today. I thought they went out there and delivered in every single round.”
The Marauders won the Downriver League earlier this season ahead of Allen Park, but finished runner-up to the Jaguars at their Regional.
“I feel like this season was a rollercoaster, but we did it and I’m so proud of everyone on my team,” senior Hannah Pryba said. “I feel like we deserved it this year.”
Carlson capped the day with a strong Round 3 routine, securing the win with a 322.10 score.
“I think what this year’s Round 3 had that maybe last year’s didn’t was that emotional component,” Ziesmer said. “I felt like they wanted it so bad because they didn’t get it last year, that it was so emotional. Their heart was really on their sleeve.”
Added senior Samantha Zdankiewicz: “After Round 3 you just get that feeling and just know in your heart you put everything into it. It’s so special for the seniors to leave with a state championship and come back from all we’ve been through with the ups and downs.”
Allen Park coach Julie Goodwin figured it would be another close encounter with the area rival.
“It was a battle, and it’s been a battle all year,” Goodwin said. “We’ve gone back and forth and they are a highly-respected team. If you want to be the best you have to beat the best, so today was a battle and it was their day.”
The Jaguars put pressure on Carlson with a Round 3 score of 320.40.
“I’m proud of my girls, and they left everything on the mat,” Goodwin said. “We had an awesome round 3 today and it was a privilege to be here at the state finals and be runner-up. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Gibraltar Carlson performs part of a top-scoring routine during Saturday’s title run. (Middle) Allen Park celebrates its runner-up finish.