Soaring Stevenson Building On Big Finish
February 13, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The best parts of last season never really ended for the Sterling Heights Stevenson competitive cheer team.
And to look at it another way, this season’s fabulous run got its start during the closing weeks of last year’s march to a Division 1 runner-up finish.
With only one senior a year ago, Stevenson came in second to champion Rochester, after taking third at the MHSAA Finals in 2016 and seventh in 2015.
But taking that next step was only part of the motivation for the Titans – the MHSAA/Applebee’s statewide “Team of the Month” for January. Just as important was a commitment made two weeks before last season’s championship meet, when a group of leaders – including many who are now finishing four-year varsity careers – told the rest of their teammates they would all be coming back this winter, and they would pick right back up where they left off.
“We used that right from the start this season,” said coach Brianna Verdoodt, who is in her 13th season leading the program. “We’ve pushed just as hard as last season, but this year is cool. We can be super intense, but we have so many more opportunities to love on them too, which is what you go into coaching to do. This year is the most fun year of coaching I’ve had because of that.”
Stevenson enters Saturday’s District at Warren Mott with the top scores in Division 1 this season for every round – 238.3, 233.4 and 322.1, respectively – and overall at 792.2. The top-ranked Titans’ average score of 785.3 is nine points better than the second-highest in Division 1 and more than four points higher than any team in any division this winter.
And they owned January. First came a Division 1-2 and overall win at the Richmond Invitational, where they scored 10 more points than the reigning Division 3 runner-up Blue Devils. Stevenson bested the field at its Titan Invitational on Jan. 20, finishing three points ahead of current No. 3-ranked Rochester Adams in Division 1 and posting the highest score against an overall field that also included reigning Division 3 champ Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Richmond and Division 2 No. 5 Southgate Anderson.
A week later, Stevenson won the Lake Orion Invitational, finishing 2.5 points better than runner-up Rochester in the Division 1 competition and posting the top score regardless of division against a field that again included Notre Dame Prep, plus reigning Division 2 champion Allen Park and runner-up Gibraltar Carlson.
But it was actually part of a second-place showing to start the season that added another rev to the Titans’ drive this winter. Stevenson finished second at its first competition, the Troy Invitational on Dec. 9, but Verdoodt posted her team’s three rounds on Facebook – and the Round 1 has more than 1 million views, tons of positive comments and shares that took the routine all over the world.
Verdoodt thinks another second-place finish has come right at the right time as well. Although the Titans clinched the Macomb Area Conference Red championship, they finished second to No. 7-ranked Warren Cousino in the final league competition last week.
The next day’s practice was the team’s best practice all season, Verdoodt said.
“It brought it back home for them – they haven’t won anything yet, nothing that matters,” Verdoodt said. “It was wonderful. It needed to happen, and I’d rather it happen now.”
Last year’s pep talk helped take the pressure off heading into the biggest meets because nearly the entire team would have another chance to compete together. This team of 22 athletes includes 10 seniors – and after having to press some directly into varsity action from junior high last winter, Verdoodt has been able to get more creative because of her team’s added strength and experience.
Lily Juncaj, Izzie Nitecki, Grace Broadworth and Carolina Poliss are all seniors who made the all-state first team last season, and total nine athletes from last year's team earned some level of all-state recognition.
The perspective will be different this time with so many seniors finishing their high school careers – and the opportunity to win the first cheer championship in school history surely will be a motivator in the three weeks to come.
“They just get it. They all knew what it felt like to take second place in the state, coming from a team that if you’d seen at the beginning of (last) season – Good Lord,” Verdoodt said. “They were so excited about that.
“But then they kinda realized, ‘Hey, we can actually do this.’”
Past Teams of the Month, 2017-18
December: Cadillac boys bowling - Report
November: Ottawa Lake Whiteford football - Report
October: Beaverton volleyball - Report
September: Shepherd girls golf - Report
PHOTO: (Top) The Sterling Heights Stevenson competitive cheer team has 22 athletes, including 10 seniors. (Photos courtesy of the Stevenson cheer program.)
D3 Preview: Numbers Tilt To Favorites
March 3, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Richmond and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep have combined to win the last five Division 3 competitive cheer championships.
With average overall scores this winter that best the rest of Saturday’s field by 25 points, it’s expected that trend will continue in this season’s final competition – but of course, six more contenders will have something to yell about that starting when Round 1 begins at 6 p.m. at Grand Rapids’ DeltaPlex.
Following are glances at all eight Division 3 teams competing. All four Finals will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a subscription basis.
COMSTOCK PARK
Rank: No. 8.
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue.
Coach: Kathy Felty, 27th season.
Championship history: Division 3 champions 2011 and 2009, three runner-up finishes.
Top score: 750.54.
Team composition: 21 overall (eight seniors, five juniors, five sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: After placing fifth last season without a senior on the team, Comstock Park returns with more experience and championships in the league, District and Regional. The Panthers average the fourth highest score in Division 3 and could return to the top four at the Final for the fourth time in five seasons. Senior Vivian Bjork made the all-state first team last season, while senior Alyssa Geraghty and junior Haleigh Brown made the second team and seniors Heather and Holly Damuth earned honorable mentions.
FLAT ROCK
Rank: No. 10.
League finish: Second in Huron League.
Coach: Tanya Vaughn, third season.
Championship history: Class C-D champion 1998, two runner-up finishes.
Top score: 758.14 at the Regional.
Team composition: 20 total (nine seniors, two juniors, five sophomores, four freshmen).
Outlook: After reaching the Regional all three seasons under Vaughn, Flat Rock took the next step this winter with a third-place finish to qualify for Saturday. It was one of only two third places all season; the Rams finished first or second at the rest of their events. Senior MaKenzie Ervin made the all-region second team last season and junior Maya Schroeder earned an honorable mention.
HOWARD CITY TRI-COUNTY
Rank: Honorable mention.
League finish: First in Central State Activities Association.
Coach: Jennifer Laskey, 11th season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 744.08.
Team composition: 18 total (four seniors, five juniors, six sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: After a year away, Tri-County will compete in its third Final in four seasons and has made the Regionals every season beginning with 2011-12. The fourth place at the Regional this time was the team’s only finish lower than third this winter. Senior Mariah Duncan earned an all-region honorable mention last season.
LAKE ODESSA LAKEWOOD
Rank: No. 6.
League finish: First in Greater Lansing Activities Conference.
Coach: Kim Martin, 26th season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 755.12.
Team composition: 21 total (nine seniors, four juniors, six sophomores, two freshmen).
Outlook: Lakewood improved to sixth last season from eighth in 2015 and won all of its events before notching third places at its District and Regional. Its top Round 1 (233.4) and Round 3 (310.5) scores both rank among the top five in Division 3 this season. Senior Kendall Rooks made the all-region second team in 2016, and senior Riley Eggers earned an honorable mention.
MONROE JEFFERSON
Rank: No. 7.
League finish: First in Huron League.
Coach: Sara Griffin, ninth season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 758.1 at the District.
Team composition: 19 total (three seniors, seven juniors, three sophomores, six freshmen).
Outlook: After moving up to fourth at last season’s Division 3 Final, Jefferson returns with the third highest average overall score in the division and the third-highest Round 2 score (222.7) this winter. The Bears have cleared 740 points six times. Junior Kylie Foland made the all-state second team last season, and sophomore McKinley Gessner earned honorable mention.
PAW PAW
Rank: No. 5.
League finish: First in Wolverine Conference.
Coach: Stefanie Miller, eighth season.
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 750.46 at the District.
Team composition: 18 total (five seniors, eight juniors, one sophomore, four freshmen).
Outlook: Paw Paw finished seventh last season, its fifth straight placing of seventh or higher, and comes back to the DeltaPlex with 13 upperclassmen. The Redskins won all of their events this season but two, and took first in the league and District before coming in second at the Regional. Seniors Mary Schincariol and Brianna Eick earned all-region honorable mentions last season.
PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP
Rank: No. 2.
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Coach: Beth Campbell, fifth season.
Championship history: Division 3 champions 2016, 2015 and 2014, runner-up 2013.
Top score: 778.52.
Team composition: 22 total (seven seniors, five juniors, five sophomores, five freshmen).
Outlook: The Fighting Irish remain dominant despite second-place finishes to top-ranked Richmond at the District and Regional. They finished second or better in all but one competition, where they finished third, and have scored 760 points or more six times. Notre Dame Prep’s round and overall high scores all rank second to only Richmond’s this winter. Senior Sarah Nantel and juniors McKenna Dooley and Rachel Michel made the all-state second team last season, and seniors Jennifer Redoutey and Anne Seyferth earned honorable mentions.
RICHMOND
Rank: No. 1.
League finish: First in Blue Water Area Conference.
Coach: Kelli Matthes, ninth season.
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2013 and 2012, runner-up three times.
Top score: 784.56.
Team composition: 36 total (11 seniors, five juniors, nine sophomores, 11 freshmen).
Outlook: A large group of juniors that led the team to a runner-up finish last season are now seniors, and they have Richmond the clear favorite with its District and Regional wins just ahead of Notre Dame Prep. Richmond’s average score of 775.3 is more than 12 points higher than Notre Dame’s and nearly 39 higher than the rest of Division 3 – plus it owns the high scores in the division in all three rounds. Seniors Kari Olsen and Kaleigh Taylor made the all-state first team in 2016, and senior Lauren Duche made the second.
PHOTO: Richmond competes during Round 1 at the 2016 Final.