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.)
Stoney Creek Finishes as Best from Rochester, Best in all of Division 1
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2024
MOUNT PLEASANT – “The Rochester Invitational,” an event also known as the Division 1 Competitive Cheer Finals, proved Friday how a great rivalry pushes everyone to be their best.
The MHSAA represents schools covering more than 96,000 square miles in Michigan, but the Division 1 battle came down to three Rochester Community Schools all located within four miles of each other – Rochester, Rochester Adams and Rochester Hills Stoney Creek.
The teams have tussled at the Oakland Activities Association Red level, followed by District, Regional and Finals for years, with the difference between them often coming down to a tenth of a point, or less.
Rochester Adams won the Finals for the third-straight year in 2022, Rochester took the title last year and, appropriately enough, Stoney Creek led from start-to-finish and won Friday at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena.
“Today was our day, and it feels great,” said Stoney Creek senior Charlotte Cahill. “It’s so tough. All three of our teams have experienced the close losses and the wins. It’s three great teams, and it comes down to the little, tiny, minute details.”
Stoney Creek finished with a three-round score of 792.98 - good for a 1.42-point margin of victory over second-place Adams (791.56), with Rochester a mere two-tenths of a point further back in third at 791.36.
The Cougars captured their third Finals title, after winning most recently in 2019.
The competition was close throughout, with Stoney Creek holding the lead going into the pivotal third round, but with both Rochester and Adams less than two points behind.
McGuirk Arena was absolutely rocking with more than 3,000 fans as the three Rochester schools went back-to-back-to-back in the third round – first Stoney Creek, then Adams, then Rochester – to decide the title.
All three delivered nearly flawless performances, executing every stunt and basket toss with precision, with every flyer strong at the top.
“What you have to understand is that it’s not like this just at state,” said Stoney Creek coach Tricia Williams, who is in her 21st season. “We do this on almost a weekly basis, so we feel this same pressure and we get better at learning how to handle it. Today, our girls handled it wonderfully.”
Adams actually posted the best score of the three schools in the final round, which was enough to leapfrog 2023 champion Rochester for second place but not enough to overtake Stoney Creek, which was slightly better than Adams in both Round 1 and Round 2.
“There’s a lot of attention on Round 3, but it takes all three rounds,” explained Williams, who is assisted by Andrea Cairns, Kayla Kenan, Jessica Ma and Susan Wood. “Against this good of competition, we have to be as perfect as we can in every round.”
While some cheer teams check the standings between each round and possibly adjust their strategy accordingly, the Cougars absolutely do not look at the scores.
“That’s one of our values as a team is not knowing the score,” explained senior Abby DeGraw. “We don’t think it makes sense to change the way that we’re performing. We just try to do our best each round and let the score take care of itself.”
That strategy worked to perfection Friday, as Stoney Creek went out with wins at Regionals and Finals after finishing second in the conference behind Rochester and second at Districts behind Adams. The Cougars’ winning score of 792.98 on Friday was just shy of their season-best of 793.56, which was good for second place at Districts.
Seniors Alison Kalaj and DeGraw, both returning all-staters, are two of the leaders for Stoney Creek, along with Cahill (second team in 2023) and Ariana Rabaut (honorable mention).
Other seniors for the Cougars were Kacey Bauer, Gracie Darling, Sofia Finazzo, Lily Leone, Laura Machak, Helena Merritt and Jane Stabnick.
Adams, which took home the runner-up trophy for the second-straight year after a three-peat as champions from 2020 to 2022, nearly roared back for the title with the best Round 3 score (322.10).
“I would say that was our best Round 3, not only of the season, but in years,” said 10th-year Adams coach Brooke Miller, who had just five seniors and just one returning all-state honoree in Lily Hittle (honorable mention). “They nailed it. They couldn’t have done any more.”
Miller and Williams exchanged a hug after the awards ceremony, full of mutual respect, and both expect the three-way Rochester rivalry to continue for the foreseeable future.
“The bottom line is that these three schools are pushing each other to be amazing,” said Miller. “It’s tenths of a point that you’re fighting for, and that forces you to be the best coach and the best athlete that you can be.”
Hartland placed fourth, followed by Macomb L’Anse Creuse North and Brighton.
PHOTOS (Top) Rochester Hills Stoney Creek competes during Friday’s Division 1 Finals at McGuirk Arena. (Middle) The Cougars celebrate their championship. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)