Michigan Center Seniors Finish 4 for 4
March 1, 2014
By Dean Holzwarth
Special to Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Four years, four MHSAA championships.
Not a bad way to remember your high school career in competitive cheer.
Michigan Center seniors Paula Stone, Paige Rochefort and Sierra Sharrer always will have those memories after the trio helped their team win an unprecedented fourth consecutive MHSAA Division 4 Final on Saturday at the DeltaPlex.
The Cardinals recorded a three-round score of 745.12 and hung on to edge runner-up Merrill (743.12) by a mere two points. Hudson (734.52) finished a distant third.
Stone, Rochefort and Sharrer have been on the varsity all four years and contributed to each title.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Stone said. “It’s like everything you’ve ever worked for paid off. It didn’t really hit me until I got off the mat after Round 3. It just hit me, and I was like, ‘Wow’, this is the last time I’ll ever take the mat. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Michigan Center claimed last year’s Final with only one senior. A group of six seniors mixed with talented juniors and sophomores to produce another banner campaign.
The Cardinals won nine consecutive meets to cap the season.
“I really wanted it for this group of seniors,” Michigan Center coach Jessica Trefry said. “Three of them have been on the other state championship teams, and they are a wonderful group of girls. I wanted this for them so badly.”
The fourth didn’t come without a few anxious moments.
Michigan Center built a sizable lead after two strong rounds. However, a bobble during its Round 3 routine put the outcome in doubt.
“They did their jobs in Rounds 1 and 2, but we faltered a little bit in Round 3,” Trefry said. “It made me nervous.”
Rochefort remained confident that the Cardinals would still prevail.
“I had faith in my team that we could clean it up at the end, and I was so glad that we still finished strong no matter what had happened,” she said. “We pulled it together, and we didn’t let it define us.”
Trefry said the team’s work ethic and determination factored into this year’s success.
“It’s different every single year, but this group of girls were incredibly hard workers and very persistent with improving,” she said. “They were not afraid to be challenged, and I told them leading up to today that if you just go out and do your job like you’ve been doing all season, then you will win. I knew we had what it took.”
Merrill coach Courtney Schiller, whose team was making its sixth trip to the Finals, was equally elated with her team’s finish – the highest in school history at the MHSAA championship competition.
The Vandals, who had the smallest team in Division 4 with only nine girls, placed fourth the past two years. They finally got over the hump and into the top two for the first time.
“We’ve never finished this high so we’re very excited about that, and we’re very excited about how close it was,” Schiller said. “We were two points from a state championship. We only have nine girls and we’re always one of the smallest teams here, so to see these girls excel the way they did today was thrilling.”
Despite competing with only five girls in Round 3, Merrill delivered the highest score of the afternoon. A 298.1 put a scare into Michigan Center.
“We struggled a little bit at Regionals last week and came in fourth against teams that came in third and fourth today,” Schiller said. “To see them come out of a tough position at Regionals and come back from that today just makes me extremely proud. We wanted to have our best three rounds today, and we did.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Michigan Center performs its Round 1 routine during Saturday’s Division 4 championship run. (Middle) Merrill, here during Round 2, posted its highest MHSAA Finals finish. (Click for action and team photos from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Notre Dame Reloads, Runs Streak to 5
March 3, 2018
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Pontiac Notre Dame Prep competitive cheer coach Beth Campbell was being honest when she stated that she believed the program could possibly be in rebuilding mode this season.
As Saturday night came to a close, that prediction couldn’t have ended up farther from the truth.
Despite heavy graduation losses and a bevy of underclassmen, the Fighting Irish kept their MHSAA Finals streak intact. Top-ranked Notre Dame Prep won its fifth consecutive Division 3 championship at the DeltaPlex with a three-round total of 776.48.
The Irish slipped past runner-up Richmond, which tallied a 771.50 score.
“I had 10 freshmen and five sophomores, two who had never been on the mat, and graduated seven kids that were outstanding in our program,” Campbell said. “I thought at the beginning of the season it was going to be a rebuilding year.”
Instead of rebuilding, the Fighting Irish simply reloaded. They went unscathed throughout the season, failing to lose a competition.
“I never would have dreamed it, to be honest,” Campbell said. “I thought we were going to have a lot of work ahead of us, but these kids, who were my seniors, know how to lead and they taught the kids our culture from day one. It was a pretty smooth season.”
The success was sparked by the leadership of the team’s four seniors: McKenna Dooley, Tessa Woryk, Rachel Michel and Taylor Beaver.
“These seniors never doubted it, and they told me on day one that this was how it was going to end,” Campbell said. “And they kept their word.”
The quartet refused to be denied in their pursuit of another Finals crown in their final high school season. They were committed to helping mentor the younger girls.
“To be responsible for this group of girls and teaching them our team mentality, it feels amazing,” Woryk said.
Added Michel: “We lost a very talented group of seniors from last year and only had four seniors with 10 freshmen coming on the team, but they were amazing and they caught onto the team culture right away. They worked super hard, and this ended up as one of the best teams we’ve ever had, in my opinion.”
Dooley said there was a sense of pride in keeping the tradition of the program going.
“Thinking about the girls that started it, it’s amazing that we get to continue the legacy they set for us,” she said. “I’m so grateful to be a part of it, and Rounds 1 and 2 were the best we’ve done all season. We peaked at state, which is what we planned on.”
The Fighting Irish boasted high scores in both of the first two rounds to build a comfortable advantage over Richmond.
And although their third round wasn’t their best, it proved to be enough to solidify the victory.
“Round 3 has been our power round, and we have not lost that round by any less than five points this year,” Campbell said. “You could see a little inexperience in that round today with more bobbles than we normally do, but they are fighters and they were able to keep it in the air and do enough to give us that fifth state championship.”
Richmond, ranked No. 2, placed runner-up to Notre Dame Prep for the fourth straight year. The Blue Devils previously won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.
“We are disappointed because you always want to win, but after what happened last year we had a lot to deal with,” Richmond coach Kelli Matthes said. “We had kids quit and we had kids who didn’t come back. The fact that they came out and won the third round and hit better than they have all year long, they were able to put that ghost away.”
Richmond, which had only one senior, finished with a flurry and produced the top score (318.0) in Round 3.
“I’m extremely proud of them, and they left it all on the mat and it showed,” Matthes said. “And the bottom line is, we might have the silver trophy, but they won the third round and that’s what they will take with them.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep performs during Saturday's Division 3 Final. (Middle) Richmond cheerleaders elevate in unison during a routine.