No Stopping Gibraltar Carlson in D2
March 2, 2013
By Dean Holzwarth
Special to Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Gibraltar Carlson senior Annie Hajec was in an unfamiliar place Saturday afternoon during the MHSAA Division 2 Final at the DeltaPlex.
Instead of helping her team compete for another championship, the four-year varsity performer was on crutches with her left ankle bandaged after tearing her Achilles tendon during Round 3 at last weekend’s Regional.
“It was definitely tough not being out there, but I knew they could do it,” Hajec said. “Every single one of those girls is so talented and so driven. It is the best team I’ve ever been on.”
The loss of a seasoned leader, however, didn’t derail the Marauders’ recent success.
Gibraltar Carlson used a dominating Round 2 effort to gain a sizable advantage and claim another MHSAA title – its third straight and fifth over the last six seasons.
The Marauders finished with a three-round total of 782.48 to end ahead of second-place Dearborn Divine Child (772.92) and third-place Mount Pleasant (762.08).
“Today was a wonderful, wonderful day,” Gibraltar Carlson coach Danielle Jokela said. “We’ve suffered a lot of setbacks this week with losing our four-year senior, who was in every round, to an injury. But they fought as hard as they could after losing at Regionals.
“We practiced Sunday through yesterday (Friday) with their whole heart, and so winning today was the sweetest victory that I’ve ever had.”
Hajec’s absence forced the Marauders to shuffle each round and throw different girls into the mix.
The changes were hardly noticeable, especially in Round 2, as the team took control with a high score of 230.48 and opened a five-point lead entering Round 3.
“We made some last-minute changes Friday,” Jokela said. “We took somebody out, and put someone else in, and it was on the line. It was heart that pulled them through because at this point, the skill was already there.”
Hajec was overwhelmed by her team’s Round 2 effort.
“That was the best that round has been all year, and I was so excited to watch it,” Hajec said. “I was jumping and screaming. I was so happy, and the team handled the pressure today very well.”
Gibraltar Carlson capped the afternoon with a spirited Round 3 and left little doubt in defending their title.
“It was a beautiful round, and I’ve never seen a group of girls fight so hard for something,” Jokela said. “We put somebody else new in that round and they decided that it wasn’t going to stop them from being state champions, because that’s what they deserved.”
While the Marauders have transformed into a perennial Division 2 powerhouse, Jokela said remaining a top contender hasn’t been easy.
“It’s real easy when you are second or third or not in the state finals at all to fight to be here, but to be in first place and consistently win is the hardest thing in the world,” she said. “It’s hard to stay on top when everyone is coming after you and you know it.”
It was an all too familiar finish for Divine Child, which won the Catholic High School League this winter.
The Falcons fell short of another MHSAA title and finished second to Gibraltar Carslon for the third straight year.
“My girls had a goal of just having three great rounds, and they just left it in the hands of the judges,” Divine Child coach Amber Genevich said. “Unfortunately, the cards didn’t fall the way we wanted them to today, and it was disappointing. But at the end of the day, I’m proud of my team and the hard work they put in all season and the obstacles they had to overcome.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Gibraltar Carlson competes during Saturday's Division 2 Final at Grand Rapids' DeltaPlex. (Middle) Dearborn Divine Child, also competing Saturday, finished runner-up this season. (Bottom) Carlson poses with its trophy on the DeltaPlex floor. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photo.)
Notre Dame Prep Repeats D3 Dominance
March 7, 2015
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – As the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep competitive cheer team exited the mat after their final round, several of the girls raised two fingers up and pointed toward their cheering section.
The Fighting Irish refused to be coined one-hit wonders.
A year after capturing the program’s first MHSAA title, Notre Dame Prep repeated in Saturday’s Division 3 Competitive Cheer Final at The DeltaPlex.
“Our theme this year was ‘more than one’,” Fighting Irish coach Beth Campbell said. “It’s been a steady climb for us the last few years and we’re so proud of our kids.”
Notre Dame Prep led from start to finish, cementing back-to-back championships with the Final’s high scores in all three rounds and a 773.68 total.
The Fighting Irish held off a challenge from Richmond, which tallied a score of 767.70 and placed among the top two for the fourth time in five years.
Armada (761.90) was third, while perennial contender Comstock Park (759) suffered a fall in Round 3 and slipped to fourth.
“We knew Richmond and Comstock Park wanted to win and bring it back to their schools, but we knew we had the talent and we stayed focused on us,” said Campbell, whose team went undefeated throughout the season in Division 3.
“Anytime you are the defending state champions there’s a target on your back, and the year before we were underdogs. I feel like defending a state championship was 25 times harder. Keeping it was a real challenge, but I think my girls decided a long time ago that they were going to defend it.”
It’s believed that the Fighting Irish achieved a school milestone as well with their second straight title.
“I’m pretty sure we’re the first sport in school history to win state titles back-to-back, so that’s an honor right there,” senior Alysa Gonzalez said. “And we also have 16 team tucks in Round 3 and only one other school has that and they are not in our division. It’s just remarkable.”
Senior Olivia Riley never imagined ending her competitive cheer career with a pair of MHSAA Finals crowns.
“I never dreamed coming into high school that I would be winning two state championships, but here I am,” she said. “There was definitely a lot of pressure on us, but we worked hard all year and we knew it would work out in the end.”
Notre Dame Prep was fueled all season by an inner drive to succeed, but also stayed focused on the task at hand.
“This team has been consistent all year long,” Campbell said. “We don’t always have our perfect rounds, but we deliver in every single round. We stayed the course, and it was closer than we would’ve liked, but our team was so focused on what their goal was. They kept taking it one round at a time and didn’t get ahead of themselves.”
The Fighting Irish scored 233.50 in Round 1 to gain the early momentum. They carried it over into the final two rounds with scores of 226.48 and 313.70, respectively.
“We know every year if you win Round 1, you win a state championship, and so we knew we had to get our lead in Round 1,” Riley said.
Richmond was within two points of Notre Dame Prep in each round, but was unable to gain any ground.
Still, Blue Devils coach Kelli Matthes was thrilled with the effort by her team.
“We’re happy,” she said. “We wanted to come in today and have our best three rounds of the year. The kids have worked hard to clean up all the bits and pieces the last two weeks in Districts and Regionals.
“Are some of the kids disappointed? Well sure, everybody wants to win, but they’re going home with a trophy and a medal around their neck.”
Richmond finished outside of the top two a year ago with an inexperienced team, and this year’s squad also was youthful with only three seniors.
Its roster consisted of 12 sophomores and seven freshmen.
“Last year our team was extremely young and new, and this year we still had 19 of our 24 kids who were underclassmen,” Matthes said. “Our senior leadership has been fabulous, and our goal all year was to keep on plugging and that’s what we did.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Notre Dame Prep finishes a routine en route to repeating as Division 3 champion. (Middle) Runner-up Richmond competes Saturday at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex.