Notre Dame Prep Takes Final Cheer Step
March 1, 2014
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Redemption was sweet for the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep competitive cheer team.
The Fighting Irish finished runners-up at last year’s Division 3 Final, but topped the eight-team field Saturday at The DeltaPlex and collected the program’s first MHSAA title.
Notre Dame Prep, making its fifth appearance at the Finals, registered a three-round total of 764.04.
Comstock Park placed runner-up with a 759.68, while Grosse Ile (749.69) was third. Two-time reigning champion Richmond (735.46) finished fourth.
“This feels great because the kids have done nothing but work every minute for this since this time last year,” Notre Dame Prep coach Beth Campbell said. “They made up their minds that we were going to come back and win this year and they did just that. Once you get that close, you want the rest, and they were awesome.”
Notre Dame Prep senior Maggie Crowe said the team used last year’s narrow loss to Richmond as motivation.
“This is probably the best feeling I’ve ever experienced in all of high school,” Crowe said. “We worked our butts off for 10 months, and everything we wanted to come true came true today.
“To come close last year, it was a ridiculous source of drive. It was a fueling fire, and we remembered how that felt.”
Fellow senior Lauren Sadowski admired the shiny medal that signified the team’s major accomplishment.
“I’m at a loss for words right now of how amazing this feels to be able to look at this gold medal in my hand and know that it’s mine,” Sadowski said. “Everything we have in our school says, ‘runner-up’, and it is so gratifying to see that it is going to change to ‘state champs.”
Comstock Park recorded its fourth runner-up finish in the last seven years under longtime coach Kathy Felty. The Panthers won MHSAA titles in 2009 and 2011.
“The girls performed great today,” Felty said. “We had new uniforms and they looked awesome, and this was a very talented team with a lot of heart.
“People look and see them crying, but we’re happy with how we did and they’re crying because it’s the last time they will be able to do this with the group together.”
The push for the championship turned into a three-team race after the opening round.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep tallied a score of 229.9 to grab the early lead, while Grosse Ile (226.5) and Comstock Park (226.4) were within striking distance.
“Our goal in Round 1 was to come out and set the tone,” Campbell said. “It was great to see us up three right after Round 1.”
The Fighting Irish increased the advantage in Round 2, posting a high score of 223.84.
The Panthers recorded the second-highest score (220.88) and moved into second, while the Red Devils slipped to third.
Comstock Park delivered a stirring Round 3 effort and scored a 312.4, putting the pressure squarely on Notre Dame Prep to duplicate.
The Fighting Irish responded with a 310.3 to secure the title.
“I think we outscored everybody, but we just couldn’t make up that six points,” Felty said. “But we had three freshmen and a sophomore out there, so we’re happy about that.”
PHOTOS: (Top) New MHSAA Division 3 champion Pontiac Notre Dame Prep performs its Round 2 routine Saturday. (Middle) Comstock Park scored 312.4 points in Round 3 to finish runner-up. (Click for action and team photos from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Cros-Lex Believes, Achieves in Surpassing Pair of Powers for 1st Finals Title
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 3, 2023
MOUNT PLEASANT – Croswell-Lexington senior Noelle Golda said her team pushed itself to overcome a different challenge every day in practice this season, which gave it the confidence to shock the state Friday afternoon.
That new-found belief allowed the Pioneers to move past two perennial powers and win the Division 3 competitive cheer championship at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant.
It was the first time Croswell-Lexington finished better than fourth at the Cheer Finals, and it was the first time since 2011 that a school other than Richmond or Pontiac Notre Dame Prep won the D3 title.
“Every day we gave ourselves a different type of challenge so that we could feel what it’s like to break through,” explained Golda, one of eight seniors on the 28-athlete roster, as she wiped away happy tears.
“You have to believe in yourself, and you have to be proud of who you are and where you come from. This is amazing for our school.”
Croswell-Lexington won with a score of 776.72, followed by Notre Dame Prep (776.02) and then Richmond (774.96). Grosse Ile, which turned in the best Round 3 score, was fourth (774.92) and Paw Paw fifth (768.22).
Cros-Lex, as the Sanilac County school located in Michigan’s Thumb is popularly known, finished second in the Blue Water Area Conference, second in Districts and third in Regionals. But on the sport’s biggest stage, nobody handled the pressure better than the Pioneers.
Heading into Round 3, Richmond was in the lead with Notre Dame Prep less than a half-point behind. Cros-Lex sat in a familiar position, in third, just behind those two state powers.
But on this day – after watching those two schools repeatedly win District, Regional and Finals trophies in front of them – it was the Pioneers’ turn to win.
“It was really a matter of finally believing in ourselves – not just that we were a good team, but that we were a state championship team,” said eighth-year Pioneers coach Katie Tomlinson. “We have struggled with that for so long, and today we broke through it.”
Richmond and Notre Dame Prep both struggled uncharacteristically in Round 3 under extreme pressure, while Croswell-Lexington, perhaps a little under the radar in third place, was nearly flawless in the final round.
The shocking, come-from-behind triumph was especially sweet for the Pioneers’ eight seniors, who placed fourth, fifth and fourth at the Finals the past three years – which were the best finishes in school history. Those seniors were Golda, Georgia Calegari, Santanna Horning, Alleyna Martinez, Cassidy Seaman, Emma Six, Maria Tabernero and Deborahann White.
When the final scores were read and Notre Dame was announced as second place – leaving only Croswell-Lexington left to be champion – those seniors and all 28 girls burst out in tears of joy and accomplishment.
“We had a good feeling all day,” explained White. “Something just felt different all day than all of those other competitions. Now we know why – it was our day.”
The Pioneers should be strong again next winter, as junior Shelby Oliver made the all-state second team last season, and junior Cora Katulski earned honorable mention.
Notre Dame Prep, which won five straight D3 titles from 2014-2018, improved on its third-place finishes the past two years. That was little consolation, however, as the Fighting Irish fell short of their goal of a sixth Finals championship by seven-tenths of a point.
Richmond, which had its streak of four consecutive championships snapped, put itself in position for No. 5 with outstanding showings in Rounds 1 and 2, but was unable to deliver in the pivotal final round.
“We have some really young kids, and they have had some good days and some rough days,” explained 15th-year Richmond coach Kelli Matthes. “At the end of the day, the right team won. I’m sad for our kids, but I am truly happy for (Croswell-Lexington).”
The victory was extra satisfying for Tomlinson, a Croswell-Lexington graduate and former competitive cheerleader at the school, who never made it to the Finals while in high school. She clutched the championship trophy tightly as she talked about the progression of the program, which had just nine athletes in 2016, her first season as coach.
“The turning point for us was getting more girls to come out and get buy-in from the parents,” said Tomlinson, who is assisted by Christi Whitican and Avery Falter. “When we started coming here (to the Finals), our goal changed to trying to make the top three.
“Now we are state champs, and I can’t believe it. Now I guess we just have to go back to the drawing board for next year.”
PHOTOS (Top) Croswell-Lexington competes at Friday’s Division 3 Final on the way to winning its first championship. (Middle) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep moved up a spot from 2022 in finishing runner-up.