Titans Believe, Achieve Second Straight
March 1, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – Southgate Anderson senior Morgan Farrah knew all along her team was capable of repeating as MHSAA Division 1 competitive cheer champion Friday.
But not until just before Round 3 began at the DeltaPlex – as Anderson’s fans chanted “I believe that we will win” from the stands – did she see in her teammates that they believed as well.
And only after it was announced did the Titans know for sure they had edged a close group of contenders at the top to win their second straight title.
“We knew that we had a lot to back up to because we were the state champs, and we knew that the judges were expecting a lot from us,” Farrah said. “We had to give them more than what they were expecting.
“I knew that we were just going to go out there and pour our hearts out to those judges.”
The Titans improved from third place after Round 1 to second after 2 before finishing Round 3 with 780.36 points total to edge runner-up Hartland (778.48) by a mere 1.88. Rochester Hills Stoney Creek also was in contention until the end, finishing third with 777.08 points.
A year ago, Anderson celebrated its first MHSAA cheer title. But history moved fast Friday, and by the end of the evening the Titans were celebrating becoming just the third team in Division 1/Class A history to repeat as champion.
Anderson’s scores over their rounds were 232.7, 228.96 and 318.7, respectively. The Round 3 score was a full point ahead of the competition.
The run is even more impressive considering the team graduated nine after last season, many of whom participated in all three rounds. But as Anderson co-coach Colette Norscia put it, “We figured it out, how to get it done.”
“A lot of hard work. We had nine freshmen, so we had a really young team this year,” co-coach Stacey Shaw added. “And it’s all about just adapting to how everyone works.”
“Lots of times, we think more of them than what they think they can do themselves,” Norscia said. “We just gotta tell them we can. Every single day. … Even today.”
The Titans – champions of the Downriver League, which sent four teams to the Finals this weekend – came into the postseason ranked No. 3 in Division 1. But they also came to Grand Rapids off their lowest finish of the winter – third at the Regional.
Top-ranked Hartland, meanwhile, hoped to follow up Anderson’s 2012 achievement with its own first championship.
By placing second, the Eagles did post their best finish ever. But despite a notably difficult Round 3 that earned the second-best score, and the top-scoring Round 2, Hartland couldn't make up enough ground this time.
However, only three of the team’s 22 athletes graduate this spring.
“We’ve worked really hard, day after day. It’s a dream come true. I couldn’t ask for better,” Hartland coach Amanda Adkins said. “(Winning the title) is always a motivator. These girls are great at pushing themselves, and they always like to set their sights high.”
But Anderson could stand in the way again in 2014. The Titans too have only three seniors.
And the 22 athletes who could return next winter shouldn’t need convincing that they can extend the championship streak to three.
“It’s so much more exciting (this year) because we have worked so hard from day one, because we knew we’d have a young team,” Farrah said.
“I think we had to convince (our younger teammates) a little bit at first. But then we got to them, and they knew they were going to do it, too.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Southgate Anderson competes during Friday's Division 1 championship meet. (Middle) The Titans pose on the DeltaPlex floor with their newest trophy. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Richmond Reigns Again as Paw Paw Offers Another Titanic Challenge
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 5, 2022
GRAND RAPIDS – Richmond was backed into a corner Saturday afternoon – but like a true champion, dug deep and fought its way out to continue its reign.
The Blue Devils needed a near-perfect final round to barely hold off a gutsy and impressive performance by Paw Paw at the Division 3 Final at the Delta Plex.
“We left our hearts out there on the mat in that final round,” said Richmond senior Sarah Mikolasik. “It’s bittersweet because it’s over, but it’s unreal what we did.”
Unreal is the perfect term to describe the high school cheer career for Mikolasik and the other seven seniors, who were a perfect 4-for-4 with Division 3 championships all four years.
However, for a period of time Saturday, it looked like the fourth title might slip away.
Richmond and Paw Paw entered the third and final round in a virtual tie, with the Blue Devils holding less than a 1-point lead (463.60 to 462.80).
Paw Paw was first to go out of the eight-school field in the final round, and to say the Red Wolves delivered would be the understatement of the day.
The Red Wolves, led by the senior duo of Paige Miller and Lexi Sunlin, absolutely nailed their final routine – much to the delight of the spectators who made the trip up from Southwest Michigan – putting them in position to win their first-ever cheer Finals title and bringing tears to the eyes of their veteran coach.
“I have never cried when one of my teams came off the mat – until today,” said 13th-year Paw Paw coach Stefanie Miller, who is also Paige’s mother. “Throughout that Round 3, the tears just welled up in my eyes. They went for it. I knew they won it.”
But Richmond had its chance.
At that point, all of the pressure in the world was on the three-time reigning champion to perform a very difficult routine, all while knowing that the slightest bobble or lean on a stunt would likely mean the end of that streak.
It was against that backdrop that Richmond, representing a small town just north of Detroit, showed why it has emerged as one of the best competitive cheer programs in the state.
Even though they weren’t on the mat at the same time, the Blue Devils matched every skill and stunt of the Red Wolves, finishing with a third-round score of 317.40, slightly better than Paw Paw’s final round of 317.20.
Richmond ended up winning with a total of 781, while Paw Paw was second at 780 – nearly the same margin of victory as one year ago.
While the margin was the same, both teams improved their total score by almost 10 points, with Richmond winning 771.62-770.72 in 2021.
“I was speechless when they came off that mat for the last time, because I knew they had done everything that they possibly could,” said Richmond coach Kelli Matthes, who has won six titles to go with five runner-up finishes during her 14 years as the team’s coach.
“They are not supposed to be perfect; they are human. But they fight tooth-and-nail every day to get there.”
Matthes is assisted by Melana Szczesniak, Lauren Riggs and Jessica Hatcher.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep placed third at 776.62, followed by Croswell-Lexington and Monroe Jefferson.
The title for Richmond means that all four team champions from 2021 repeated this year – Rochester Adams in D1, Allen Park in D2, Richmond in D3 and Hudson in D4.
Gracie Ellis, one of five returning senior all-staters for Richmond, said the abilities to be coachable and always striving to get better is the reason her school has won four championships in a row.
“Never when we correct people does anybody complain,” said Ellis, who was joined as a senior returning first-team all-stater by Makenna Parker, Hannah Jeroue, Savanna Krywy and Ava Moskwa. “They take it, and they work harder. That’s how you keep getting better.”
Other seniors for Richmond were Eryn Hart, Jenna Alexander and Mikolasik.
PHOTOS (Top) Richmond competes during Saturday’s Division 3 Finals at Grand Rapids’ Delta Plex. (Middle) Paw Paw celebrates its second-straight runner-up finish. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)