Stevenson Returns, Leaves as D1 Champion
March 2, 2018
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS -- Sterling Heights Stevenson competitive cheer coach Brianna Verdoodt clutched the hardware in her hands as tightly as she could.
“I’m sleeping with this tonight,” Verdoodt declared after her team made school history Friday at the MHSAA Division 1 Final at the DeltaPlex.
The top-ranked Titans concluded a dominating season by winning the program’s first state championship.
Stevenson tallied a three-round total of 793.22 and outlasted runner-up Rochester Adams, which finished at 790.82.
“I could not have written a better story of how this season has gone for us,” Verdoodt said. “We lost only one senior last year, so it was first time we had literally every single girl coming back. So the year started out totally different.
“We could be tough, but still love on them, and we kept pushing just as hard because we knew that we wanted this.”
The Titans placed second to Rochester a year ago and third in 2016. Last season’s was their first runner-up finish at the Finals since 2011.
“We knew we wanted a little bit more this year,” Verdoodt said. “Last year was unexpected with nine freshmen, and making it to the state finals was huge – and runner-up was just like icing on the cake.”
Stevenson capped off an incredible season that included a Macomb Area Conference Red championship and winning all but one competition.
“This is probably the best feeling of my life,” Stevenson senior Anna Long said. “I’ve been working four years to win a state championship, and this is just the best day of my life. We were all confident that we had a shot because this is the best this team has ever been, so we knew it could be done.”
The Titans drew motivation from last year’s finish, and that experience paid off for the veteran group.
“We were so close with a young team and now we’re here, state champs,” Titans senior Carolina Poliss said. “It’s crazy to be the first because we’ve been striving for years for this, and we’re doing something Stevenson has never done before.”
Stevenson trailed Adams by two tenths of a point after Round 1, but jumped into the lead with a solid Round 2 that delivered a high score of 232.72.
All that was left was Round 3, and the Titans punctuated the win with a stirring effort that combined flexibility, strength and agility.
It resulted in another high score, 322.20.
“I was a flyer in high school and I’m crazy about flexibility and things that set us apart from other people,” Verdoodt said. “We have a couple different things in our Round 3 that look odd to a normal cheer person.
“Round 3 is just a fun one, and we hold them to really high standards for all positions so they can go out and do a performance like that under pressure.”
Long said there was a sense of calm that overtook the team before its final round.
“We’re usually nervous, but we were all really confident this time and it was a different confidence than normal,” she said. “We were all really focused, and I feel like we all knew that all we had to do was hit Round 3 and show we wanted it with heart. Then we knew we could win, because our other rounds were so strong.”
Adams’ runner-up finish was its first in more than two decades. The Highlanders placed second to Rochester in Class A in 1996.
“It feels like first; it really does,” Adams coach Brooke Miller said. “They’ve worked so hard for this, and they’ve definitely fought for everything they’ve done today.”
The Highlanders, who finished fifth last season in their first trip to the Finals in 20 years, had 10 seniors leading the way.
“They really wanted it, and they did everything they could possibly do to get it,” Miller said. “We had nothing to lose tonight, and we wanted to go out there and have fun and let these 10 seniors have the best day yet.”
Two-time reigning champion Rochester took third (789.70), while Grand Blanc and Rochester Hills Stoney Creek rounded out the top five.
PHOTOS: (Top) Sterling Heights Stevenson hoists its first Finals championship trophy in competitive cheer. (Middle) Rochester Adams celebrates its runner-up finish.
Hudson Starts Slow, Bounces Back to Finish in Championship Fashion
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2024
MOUNT PLEASANT – Hudson certainly has not been cocky this season despite ending last winter by winning a fourth-straight Division 4 competitive cheer championship.
In fact, the Tigers were the opposite.
“The girls lacked confidence this year, to be honest,” said Hudson coach Kelly Bailey, who has guided the program 28 seasons. “That was actually our biggest obstacle to overcome.”
It didn’t help that the Tigers got off to a slow start in Friday’s Final – they sat in fourth place after the first round. But that just set the stage for a powerhouse performance during the final two rounds, as Hudson rolled to its fifth consecutive Division 4 title at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena.
Hudson won with 746.30 points, followed by Pewamo-Westphalia (736.42) and Michigan Center (733.94).
“I told them after the first round that they were in fourth place, and their jaws dropped,” said Bailey. “But they like to perform in the more athletic rounds, 2 and 3, so I really wasn’t worried.
“Anxious? Yes. Worried? Not really.”
Led by returning all-state seniors Rylie Bloomer and Victoria Hawkins, the Tigers easily made up their 4.1-point first-round deficit with a strong Round 2.
That set the stage for Round 3, where Hudson was the only one of the eight teams to eclipse 300 points (300.40). Near the end of that round, when part of its cheer was, “We will keep our crown,” it was clear that those words would be prophetic.
“Honestly, I was really nervous, but now I’m really happy,” said Bloomer, one of six seniors on Hudson’s 20-athlete varsity roster. “I like to know where we stand after each round, good or bad. It doesn’t really affect anything, because we still have to go out and do our best.”
Hudson now has finished either first or second in Division 4 for eight straight years, with six titles.
This year’s team – which featured six seniors, three juniors, five sophomores and six freshmen – took a little bit longer to get rolling, with its highest scores of the season coming in victories at the District and Regional.
In addition to Bloomer and Hawkins, the other returning all-stater for Hudson was junior Jayla Bright. Senior Kayden Rogers made second team all-state in 2023, and senior Paige Clark and junior Courtney Rodifer were honorable mention.
“There is always so much pressure on us, every year, so it’s amazing to overcome that and win it again,” said Hawkins.
The Tigers’ other seniors were Callia Cooper and Eliza Pack.
The last team to win a Division 4 title before Hudson’s five-year streak was Pewamo-Westphalia, which was back in the mix Friday and finished second for the third time over the past five years – despite having just one senior, returning second team all-stater Sophia Simon.
The Pirates used an inspired Round 3 performance to rally past Michigan Center and capture the runner-up hardware.
“We have such a young team, and they have put their blood, sweat and tears into this season,” said P-W coach Staci Myers, who completed her 17th year leading the program. “They knocked it out of the park in that third round, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
The Pirates, who were led by Simon and sophomore returning honorable mention all-stater Karsyn Simmon, won District and Regional crowns leading up to Friday’s strong finish.
Merrill placed fourth and Sanford Meridian was fifth Friday.
PHOTOS (Top) Hudson competes during Friday’s Division 4 Final at CMU. (Middle) Pewamo-Westphalia competes on the way to finishing runner-up. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)