Inspired Notre Dame Prep Runs Streak to 4
March 4, 2017
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – The Fight for Four took on a whole different meaning for the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep competitive cheer team this season.
While the Fighting Irish pursued a fourth straight Division 3 title Saturday night, the squad also was committed to honoring a 2013 graduate, Kristy Malter, who died last summer after suffering from bacterial meningitis.
Notre Dame Prep carried a sign proudly that read, “Fight for Four” with “4K” in the corner.
“We had one mission and one goal this year,” said Fighting Irish coach Beth Campbell. “We lost a girl over the summer to bacteria meningitis and she was one of our alumni so we decided then that the season was going to be 100 percent for her.
“You see us doing the 4K and that’s for Kristy. We kept our eyes focused on that and we wanted to represent our school, Kristy and her family. That was our main focus for the whole year.”
Miss Malter would’ve been proud of her former team, as it won the MHSAA Division 3 Final at Grand Rapids DeltaPlex with a narrow victory over rival Richmond.
The No.2-ranked Fighting Irish finished with a final score of 315.90, while the top-ranked Blue Devils tallied a 314.70.
It was Notre Dame Prep’s fourth consecutive MHSAA title.
“I’ve never been more proud of how these girls came out here,” Campbell said. “It was not one round; it was all three rounds. It was their best performance of the year, and I think they had the most heart I’ve ever seen out on that mat.
“We knew it was going to be a tough competition, but they were so determined to do this for Kristy. It was always our focus, and they knew that they had to give their best.”
Five Notre Dame Prep seniors capped their high school careers with four Division 3 championships: Sarah Nantel, Grace Mackey, Jennifer Redoutey, Caroline Hauck and Anne Seyferth.
“It was for Kristy this whole time, but I think we just wanted to prove to ourselves that we could be better than we were,” Nantel said. “It’s all about beating yourself and proving what other people thought wasn’t possible. We were going to be proud no matter the outcome, but we came out on top.”
The Fighting Irish won the first two rounds by the slimmest of margins over Richmond before the decisive Round 3.
“It felt so good to put our best on the floor, and we knew if we hit the way we know we could that whatever happens, happens, but I think we peaked today,” Redoutey said. “Today was our best day, and we showed a lot of heart. If we could make our parents, our alumni and our Kristy proud … that was the goal this season. All of this just makes it sweeter.”
Richmond, which won the Blue Water Area Conference, suffered another heartbreaking finish. It placed as Final runner-up for a third straight season.
The Blue Devils were poised for redemption, but a rare fall in Round 3 doused their hopes of regaining the crown they won in 2012 and 2013.
“The season has been a dream season,” Richmond coach Kelli Matthes said. “My kids have poured their hearts and souls into everything that they’ve done, and it’s not the outcome that we wanted, but when you make a mistake that’s what happens. And it doesn’t just fall on that one stunt group that had an issue, there were tiny things in each round.
“I have 37 girls on this team, and they are a family. They have been working at this for a really long time, and I just wish for them that it could’ve happened.”
Monroe Jefferson (772.62) took third after placing fourth a year ago, while Comstock Park (767.34) placed fourth. It was the Panthers’ fourth top-four finish at the Final in the past five seasons.
PHOTOS: (Top) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep performs Saturday night on the way to earning a fourth straight Division 3 title. (Middle) Richmond finished second for the third straight season.
Richmond Adds Repeat to Seniors' Legacy
March 7, 2020
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – For years, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep had Richmond’s number.
Richmond finished runners-up in Division 3 to the Fighting Irish for four straight seasons from 2015 to 2018, before finally breaking through with the school’s third competitive cheer Finals championship last year.
“We were fighting every year to get over that hump, and then we got over it and then the fear set in: Can we do it again?” said Kelly Matthes, who is in her 30th year of coaching cheerleading and 12th as head coach at Richmond.
The Blue Devils answered their coach’s question with a resounding “yes” on Saturday evening, leading from start to finish and capturing their second-consecutive Division 3 title at the Delta Plex with 784.28 points.
Notre Dame Prep (779.18) took runner-up for the second consecutive year, followed by Paw Paw (777.08) and Croswell-Lexington (774.46).
Richmond came out laser-focused, dominating the first two rounds and building a 3.2-point lead heading into Round 3.
Then things got interesting, at least for a moment. Richmond, which went second in the final round, was not nearly as sharp as in the first two rounds. The Blue Devils had a couple of wobbles, but held it together and finished their challenging open round routine in style.
“We had a small little issue in that final round, but we practice in case of that,” explained Matthes, who is assisted by Melana Szczesniak and Lauren Riggs. “Don’t expect it to be perfect, and prepare for something to go wrong. They didn’t stop or give up; they just kept going.”
Croswell-Lexington actually had the best score in Round 3, but Richmond’s fast start was far too much to overcome.
“We know we need to build a big lead at the beginning, just in case something goes wrong later on,” said senior Madison Daniel, whose team was champion of the Blue Water Area Conference and won 10 of its 11 competitions. “That was our mindset.”
Daniel was one of three returning senior all-staters for the Blue Devils, along with Emily Mikolasik and Jordan Valentine. Sophomore Makenna Parker was also first team all-state last year, and senior Nicole Logghe was second team.
The other seniors for Richmond were Julia Akerley, Jillian Maksymiuk, Anna Marshall, Madison McEwen, Olivia Poelker and Noelle Riggs.
Those seniors finished among the top two at the Finals all four years of their high school careers – runners-up as freshmen and sophomores and champions as juniors and seniors. Marshall said the turning point came when they stopped being obsessed with Notre Dame Prep, and instead concentrated on their own improvement.
“After 2017, we really focused on ourselves and had tunnel vision,” said Marshall. “That’s how we kept getting better, and today was our best.”
Next year could be a rebuilding year or a reloading year for Richmond, depending on your point of view. On one hand, the team is losing 10 seniors and has only two juniors in Samantha Bryant and Jenna Jaissle. On the other hand, the team also has 28 athletes on its roster.
“The way I look at it, I still have 18 kids returning,” said Matthes, who noted that most of the 10 seniors have been cheering together since they were children at the Richmond youth cheer camp. “These seniors wanted to leave a legacy, and they sure did that.”
Comstock Park place fifth, ahead of Onsted, Berrien Springs and Escanaba.
PHOTOS: (Top) Richmond hoists the Division 3 championship trophy for the second-straight season Saturday at the Delta Plex. (Middle) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep performs its routine on the way to a repeat runner-up finish.