Huskies Seniors Finish What They Restarted
March 5, 2016
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Breckenridge’s Dakota Colthorp was part of a group of wide-eyed and enthusiastic fifth graders who wanted to be involved in competitive cheer.
At the time, the high school didn’t have a team due to low numbers.
Seven years later, Colthorp and her elementary school classmates have become instrumental in helping restore the program to the dominant level it had been accustomed to in the 2000s.
Breckenridge captured its second straight MHSAA Division 4 Final on Saturday at The DeltaPlex.
The Huskies notched high scores in each round to tally a 767.68 and best runner-up Michigan Center (754.12).
“It’s incredibly special for us,” Colthorp said. “We didn’t have a team for awhile, and our group of seniors are the ones who brought it back. We started in fifth grade and have not left since. The seven of us went through middle school with this program and we helped rebuild it to where it is today. It’s incredible to say that we are back-to-back state champions.”
The senior class also included Kaitlyn Corson, Paige Guthrie, Alicia Gutierrez, Katie Mortensen, Justine Brabaw and Lindsey Reichard.
"It's very special because we've wanted this for a long time," Guthrie said. "We've had family members who have won before, and we wanted to do the same. My cousins cheered in 2007."
The seniors were motivated to end their high school careers with another top finish.
“For the seven of us, it’s the last time being able to do that,” Colthorp said. “So we made sure to give it our all and leave it all out on the mat. It might not have been perfect in the warm-up room, but we came together and gave it our best on the mat.
“We put in a lot of hard work in and it was very rewarding to be here and be able to bring home the trophy.”
The Huskies repeated for the first time since 2007, the last time they won an MHSAA Division 4 championship.
They won six Class C/D titles during a span of seven seasons from 2000-2006.
Breckenridge coach Deb Gaines recruited the seniors from that fifth-grade class.
“They were very committed and dedicated,” Gaines said. “They were key to our program coming back, and others followed. I think some of them had perfect attendance through the years. There were very few absences.”
Huskies co-coach Jenna Graham said the seniors have always been there to lend support.
“We’ve relied on them for motivation on and off the mat,” she said. “They’ve really tried to step up and be the leaders we needed this year. They’ve been here so long that we just expected that out of them and stepped up to it.”
It was a different environment this season for Breckenridge than the last time they were here. The Huskies were now the team everyone was chasing.
“They were just here to do their thing last year, no pressure,” Graham said. “But this year was different. We had to defend that title. Defend and repeat has been our motto all season.”
Added Gaines: “It’s hard to repeat in anything. We just had to keep stepping up our game and going for it. Rounds 1 and 2 were exceptionally strong, and in Round 3 they just delivered.”
Round 3 did have early drama for the Huskies. They had a nearly seven-point cushion entering the final round; however, an early fall tested their resolve.
“We were hoping to have that lead so there was a little room for error,” Graham said. “We trained them how to deal with that when it happens.”
“Anything can happen out there,” Gaines said. “It’s all about how you recover and how you fight back harder.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Breckenridge dominated the first two rounds Saturday to repeat as Division 4 champion. (Middle) Michigan Center improved one spot from 2015 to finish runner-up.
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.