Why Not Cedar Springs? Red Hawks Excited to Chase Finals Championship
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
January 18, 2024
CEDAR SPRINGS – It’s been more than 15 years since a competitive cheer team from the west side of the state has won a Division 2 Finals championship.
Cedar Springs is attempting to change that.
The Red Hawks entered the week ranked No. 3 in Division 2 behind perennial powerhouses Allen Park and Gibraltar Carlson.
“Our end goal with the program is not to just make it a goal to be at the state meet, it’s to win it.” Cedar Springs coach Katy Hradsky said. “No one else from around the area has won in Division 2 since 2007, and I know it's a hefty goal, and a lot to say out loud, but at the same time who else is going to do it? Why not us?”
Holland Christian claimed the last Division 2 title before Allen Park and Gibraltar began dominating. The two schools have combined to win the last 16 Division 2 Finals.
“At this point, we know how high we can score and we know what our potential is,” senior Taylor Shadley said. “We are done playing small, and we feel like we should go hard every competition in order to achieve those goals – because why not us?
The Red Hawks’ best Finals finish recently was fifth in 2019. The program made four consecutive trips (2019-2022) before failing to reach championship weekend a year ago.
That disappointment still runs deep for the returning athletes.
“It was really heartbreaking because we went through a lot of adversity throughout our season,” Shadley said. “It was disappointing for us, but it gave us more motivation going into this year.”
Said senior Hannah Wright: “We have a lot of motivation this year. We struggled to do it last year and some obstacles got in our way from getting there, but I think this year we’ve really buckled down and gotten stronger as a team. We’re even more motivated.”
The Red Hawks weathered a tough start this season due to illness and injury and placed third in their first two competitions. They got back on track earlier this month and won their own invitational.
“It was a very rough start to the season, but it's getting there,” said Hradsky, who’s in her third year at the helm but has been a part of the program for the past decade.
“We were really young last year, and we’re still young. Our freshman and sophomore classes outweigh our junior and senior classes by about five, but it doesn't mean they are any less talented or skilled than any other team that I’ve had here. They are just as motivated as last year, if not more.”
In addition to Shadley and Wright, the following also compete in all three rounds: senior Kennedy Klocko, juniors Kadee Rypma, Ashley Buckley and Sarah Buckley; sophomores Taylor Verduin, Marley Salisbury and Brynn Nesbitt; and freshmen Lily Maddox and Ella Roth.
“Our biggest strengths are rounds 1 and 2, and we have worked really hard to get some of those skills back that we didn’t have last year in round 2,” Hradsky said. “We made it our goal all sideline season and at the start of the competitive season to make sure those skills are as perfect as they can be.”
Round 3 is still a work in progress, according to Shadley.
“We are seeing what works for everybody, and we have a lot of girls who are able to be moved around,” she said. “It’s just getting things to click.”
“The bond we have helps, and our coaching is structured,” Wright added. “The coaches know what they are doing, and they know what to give us to motivate us. It’s a very welcoming place to learn, grow and make mistakes.”
The recent winter weather has wreaked havoc on Cedar Springs’ schedule.
A trip to Rochester Hills Stoney Creek was canceled, as well as Wednesday’s first Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold meet. The Red Hawks will be one of the favorites to win their conference and were looking forward to showcase their skills.
“It was disappointing because we felt prepared going in, but with more preparation we will be just fine,” Shadley said.
Added Wright: “We were really excited for Stoney Creek because it’s one that we look forward to and we were really hyped for our first conference meet. We will take that time to practice and perfect everything we need to do to come back stronger for the next competition.”
The aspirations are clear, and the initiative plentiful.
“The goal every year is to get better and better for the state meet, and then to do what we can to be at the state meet,” Hradsky said.
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Cedar Springs competes during a meet on its home mat. (Middle) This season’s Red Hawks competitive cheer team. (Photos courtesy of the Cedar Springs competitive cheer program.)
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.