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.
Mostly-New Carlson, Same Finals Result
March 7, 2015
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – The return of only two seniors and the addition of a new coach made some wonder if the Gibraltar Carlson competitive cheer team could keep its string of consecutive MHSAA Division 2 titles intact.
The Marauders put those questions to rest by delivering another sterling performance with a squad comprised of mostly underclassmen.
Gibraltar Carlson won its fifth straight MHSAA Finals on Saturday at The DeltaPlex with a three-round total of 784.88.
It prevailed over runner-up DeWitt (778.36), which edged third-place and four-time reigning runner-up Dearborn Divine Child (778.24) by 12 hundredths of a point.
“There was lot of pressure, especially this year because we only had two seniors,” senior Sheridan Skopczynski said. “You don’t want to be the seniors that lose it for everyone, and we had a streak going. We love the pressure and we had a lot of people to prove wrong this year. We pushed through every single day and we knew we could do it.”
The Marauders’ other senior, Kersten Gant, said it was vital to keep the tradition going despite losing several key seniors from a year ago.
“You never want to disappoint the seniors from before, and you always have a reputation to uphold,” she said.
“Everybody really counts on you every year, and the younger girls look up to you.”
First-year coach Aryn Ziesmer took over the reins of the perennial state powerhouse after previously coaching at Southgate Anderson.
“I came from the three-time Division 1 state champions, so I kind of knew going into how to get that out of them,” Ziesmer said. “We won Districts, we won Regionals and this was just another day on a bigger caliber. If you go in as the defending Regional champions it makes your confidence that much higher.”
The addition of a talented freshman group helped propel the Marauders. Eleven freshmen took the floor Saturday for the first time on the biggest stage.
In fact, only three girls had ever competed at the Finals previously.
“Everybody always says how do you do it with 11 freshmen, but they want it with everything they have in them,” Ziesmer said. “Our freshmen are the heart of this team.”
Skopczynski said it took time for the freshmen to become acclimated to a new environment.
“Those freshmen, it took them a month or so to get their confidence up, but once we got it going we were on fire,” she said. “They’re just great and such confident performers. I can’t wait to see what these next three years hold for them.”
Gant has been on the team since she was a freshman. She was overcome with emotion after realizing her senior year would end with another MHSAA Finals crown.
“Oh, it feels great,” Gant said. “This is my fourth title, and I’m so happy that I got to share it with all the freshmen and everyone else. I’m so proud of them.”
Gibraltar Carlson tallied the high score in Round 1 with a 235.2, while Allen Park (232.8) edged Divine Child (232.5) and was in second place.
Divine Child was superb in Round 2 and posted a score of 230.64 to close the gap heading into the final round.
Gibraltar Carlson led Divine Child by less than two points entering Round 3, but produced a high score of 319.8 to seal it.
“We have a more difficult Round 3, and we definitely don’t play it safe,” Ziesmer said “There is a lot of room for error, and the fact that they pulled it off was why we were rewarded with such a high score.”
DeWitt pulled off the second-highest score (778.36) in Round 3 to notch its first runner-up finish since 2007.
“Our Round 3 has kind of been our bread and butter all season long,” Panthers coach Candace Heskitt said. “The girls are most comfortable in Round 3, and when they get to do it, that’s their time to shine. They feel at home.”
DeWitt’s roster included only four seniors, but Heskitt said a number of Panthers have been cheering together for many years.
“There’s a core group that have been together for several years, and I think that brings a strength to the team that we have not always had,” she said. “These girls work so hard and they’ve worked hard as a group, which has made it that sweeter.
“Obviously, everybody here is chasing first place and a state title, but before we took the floor the one thing I said was, ‘I want you to walk off the floor feeling like you did your best and had an amazing day’, and that took priority. The girls did a great job.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Gibraltar Carlson performs its routine during Round 3 of Saturday's Division 2 Final. (Middle) DeWitt also competes in Round 3 on the way to finishing runner-up at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex.