Notre Dame Seniors Make Good on Promise
March 5, 2016
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – The seniors on this year’s Pontiac Notre Dame Prep competitive cheer squad made a pact three years ago as freshmen after placing runner-up to Richmond in the MHSAA Final.
They made a vow that ultimately came to fruition Saturday night.
“Our freshman year we came here as runner-up, and ever since that year us seniors made a promise that we would never have that feeling again,” Fighting Irish senior Stephanie George said. “We knew we would do everything we could to make sure we carried the team to three straight championships our senior year. We worked extremely hard these past few years to get here.”
Notre Dame Prep’s six seniors lived up to their promise by collecting the program’s third consecutive MHSAA Division 3 championship at the DeltaPlex.
The Fighting Irish prevailed with a 775.48 total and topped runner-up Richmond, which finished at 765.86.
Notre Dame Prep fourth-year coach Beth Campbell has watched the returning girls make their prediction after every Final.
“Every year at the completion of this, my seniors-to-be circle up on the corner and make a promise to each other that they are going to defend what the seniors started,” Campbell said. “So they made that promise last year in a circle and said that they are going to be three-time state champs. They’ve talked about it at practice since June.”
Campbell said the ultimate goal each year is to win an MHSAA title, and steps are taken throughout the season to achieve it.
While some teams may shy away from making bold statements about future success, the Fighting Irish have embraced the challenge.
“It’s a mindset, and the culture of our team,” Campbell said. “They make a promise and they deliver on that promise.
“When you’ve won before and have that target on your back, it can be stressful on kids. We were the underdog for so long that we’re just not afraid of it. It’s ours to lose and we’re going to do everything we can to defend it. Talking about it and not being afraid of it gives our kids the confidence to deliver.”
Notre Dame Prep jumped out to an early lead and kept the momentum intact throughout.
“I just feel beyond blessed,” senior Lauren Kavanagh said. “These girls have worked so hard and they stuck with us seniors through the highs and lows of the entire season. I’m so happy it fell in our favor today.”
The Fighting Irish closed with a 318.40 in Round 3 to secure the championship.
“We were told we needed to hit it, and I knew our team could do it,” senior Paige Lombardo said. “And so when we hit it, I knew it was the last round I’ll ever be doing. I just stepped off the mat and I felt relief.”
Round 3 had been a struggle for the Fighting Irish, but it finally came together toward the end of the season.
“We fell every time and it became a mental block,” Campbell said. “It was a major goal to hit that round, and they turned it on. By Districts and Regionals, it became our strongest round. They were excited and ready to perform it.”
A similar disappointment as last year was felt by Richmond as it fell short to the Fighting Irish for the second straight.
The Blue Devils won back-to-back MHSAA championships in 2012 and 2013, but have been unable to reclaim the title the past three years.
Richmond coach Kelli Matthes was frustrated after the results were announced.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything more from them today,” Matthes said. “If you saw our third round, I think it was the best third round of the day. The fact that we had to go first, it just plays into the cards.
“All I know is there are 28 ladies over there that busted their butts for me for nine months … . They are happy with how they performed, but frustrated with the outcome.”
The Blue Devils graduate only two seniors, and have a large group of eighth graders ready to make the jump.
“The program is in great shape, no doubt about it,” Matthes said. “And we’re going to keep plugging along. Maybe at some point, things will be different.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep performs a routine Saturday on the way to its third straight Division 3 title. (Middle) Richmond finished runner-up for the second straight season, giving the team five top-two finishes over the last six years.
Grandville Cheer Raises Bar in Repeat Bid
December 23, 2015
Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRANDVILLE – Grandville has had one of the elite competitive cheer programs in the state since the sport became MHSAA-sponsored in 1994.
Six championships in Division 1/Class A and eight runner-up finishes over the past 21 years provide undeniable proof of the program’s success under longtime coach Julie Smith-Boyd.
Grandville enters this season as the defending Division 1 champion after notching a narrow victory over another perennial power, Rochester, at last season’s MHSAA Final. It was the Bulldogs’ first title since 2011.
Smith-Boyd, in her 35th year at the helm, said a key to last year’s run was a commitment to conditioning and weight training.
“Last year was the first year that we lifted throughout the season,” Smith-Boyd said. “We have lifted in the past, but once the season started we stopped. It was amazing to me how much stronger they were at the end, and now that we’ve been doing it for over a full year they are so strong.”
The hiring of strength and conditioning coach Tully Chapman has made a world of difference to not only the competitive cheer squad, but other sports at Grandville.
“Everything is so much better and stronger, even with their tumbling,” Smith-Boyd said. “They are showing more athleticism, and it has benefited us so much. The lifting has made them more mentally tough, to get through some things that they didn’t think they could do. We are doing some hard things this year and really mixing it up.”
The added element to the program, combined with the return of several key performers, has the Bulldogs primed to duplicate last year’s accomplishment.
Grandville has 13 back, including Ingrid Vredevoogd, Kelsey Russell, Mackenzie Brower, Carly Landstra, Rachel Anglim, Skyler Stauffer, McKenzie Wezeman, Daelyn Weir, Kaley Schuitema, Olivia Calvin, Jaycie Schultz, Claire Baker and Paige Gkekas.
“We’re not as experienced as last year’s team was, but they looked amazing in Rounds 1 and 2 at the first meet at Comstock Park,” Smith-Boyd said. “I looked at the scores and they were almost identical to the same time last year. We do have the target on our back, but I just want them to do their best.”
The Bulldogs are vowing not to be satisfied with last year’s memorable feat.
“We’re just really powerful, and I feel like we have this drive to do it again,” Weir, a junior, said. “And since we’re state champs, we feel like we have to work even harder at it to be champs again.”
Vredevoogd, one of eight seniors, echoed those sentiments. She said the team understands the challenges awaiting it in defending the title.
“We talked in practice how for teams that didn’t win last year it’s almost easier to reach for it because there is something to strive for,” she said. “It’s almost harder to stay at the top, so our focus is to work hard to stay there instead of taking steps back. We have girls back who know what the state finals felt like, and the girls from the JV have jumped right in. We’ve hit the ground running.”
Within the program, expectations never change. Smith-Boyd doesn’t allow it.
“I don’t really lower the bar; I just don’t,” she said. “And the girls coming up know that. The bar keeps going up and up the more talented and the more skilled they become. They just rise to the occasion, and we keep getting girls to come out for it. They work so hard, and I really like this group.”
The tradition of the program motivates each team member. They don’t want to disappoint previous teams and are focused to live up to the high standards.
“A lot of the alumni will come back, especially during state week, and they will talk to us about their experiences,” Vredevoogd said. “It just motivates us to carry on what they’ve built up, and especially Julie. There is a lot to be proud of and a lot to be excited to be a part of.”
Said Weir: “I feel like we always have the pressure, only because we’ve always had so many teams in the past that have been really good so we all feel like we have to be like that.”
A close bond also has formed among this year’s group.
“We all love each other and love to be around each other,” Weir said. “We’re a family, and being at practice is fun.”
While the opportunity to contend for another MHSAA title would be ideal, Smith-Boyd simply hopes for the best from her team.
“That would be super cool, but if we don’t get it I want them to have a great year,” Smith-Boyd said. “For it to be exciting, memorable and fun.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grandville competes during Round 3 of last season's MHSAA Division 1 Final at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex. (Middle) Coach Julie Smith-Boyd prepares to guide her athletes during competition.