Coldwater Meet Provides Decade of Support
February 5, 2020
By Wes Morgan
Special for Second Half
Coldwater High School gymnastics coach Kim Nichols and the many athletes that have been a part of the program over the last decade will probably never fully fathom the impact they’ve had and continue to have on their community.
The scoreboard says it’s been a $79,000 (and counting) contribution to the local fight against cancer. What can’t be calculated are the intangible byproducts of the donations, such as the smiles on patients’ faces as they enjoy more comfortable spaces in which to undergo treatment, or even the social lessons learned by the student-athletes interacting with the business world for the first time.
This Saturday marks 10 years since the Cardinals started the “Stick It For A Cure” charity event, a day full of top-notch competition, fundraising and fun designed to support local folks fighting all types of cancer.
Nichols and her team were honored last year with a regional and national Junior Philanthropic award by Promedica. Nichols was named 2018-19 Coach of the Year by the Michigan High School Coaches Association and was a candidate for a sectional award from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Coaches Association.
All proceeds from “Stick It For A Cure” raised to date have gone to Coldwater’s local oncology center.
“We really start planning as soon as gymnastics season begins right around October,” Nichols explained. “We start making plans and organizing things. In December we meet once a week with some parent volunteers that want to be on the committee to help. We had a chili supper that we hosted in early December as kind of our kickoff for the event and start (to) the fundraising. The girls served chili and cleaned tables. We did Krispy Kreme donut sales, and the girls delivered them.
“The big push is getting the girls to go out into the community and canvas the local businesses for donations. We parents organize a lot of it, but I want them to be in the front and involved so they learn how to talk to other adults, how to be responsible, respectful and learning about volunteering and giving back. Oftentimes, they see a direct impact that they have on people. It’s a really good experience. They do a lot. I keep them very busy.”
All of that is in concert with growing a successful gymnastics program.
Participants in arguably the toughest Regional in the state, the Cardinals are still working towards their first appearance as a team at the MHSAA Finals. However, most recently, Leah Goodwin placed 13 overall at the 2019 Division 1 Individual Finals. Layla Schoch was 22nd. More than 20 individuals have qualified for the Finals under Nichols. Kylie Dudek was the Division 1 Finals champion on the uneven bars in 2013, when she also finished all-around runner-up.
Coldwater set a school record for team total points (136.675) last season. The Cardinals have qualified as a team for Regional competition this winter, scheduled for March 7 at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills.
Nichols points to the support of the school district and local businesses that has helped the gymnastics team flourish.
“I can take some pride in building this program,” Nichols said, “but a big part of it is having gym space, gym time. We started from the classic ‘drag your equipment out of the closet, use half of the court for two hours’ and it would take us 30-45 minutes to set up and 30-45 minutes to tear it down. We’ve been able to get some generous donations from folks in the community that have supported us, and the athletic department has kept us going. We have full equipment now. It’s really cool.”
They’ve more than paid it forward, with at least $12,000 in donations expected from this year’s campaign.
“Everybody knows somebody affected by cancer,” Nichols said. Many Cardinals gymnasts over the years have had family members affected by cancer, including sophomore McKenna Hantz, whose mother, Mindy, was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, is in remission and volunteers for the annual event. Nichols’ grandmother passed away from stomach cancer 10 years ago when they were trying to get the event off the ground.
“I think the community really enjoys it,” McKenna Hantz said. “It’s good to be known as helping the community out and the people who need it. It’s scary, and it’s hard to deal with. These patients get more stuff and money to help them out.”
“I’m amazed that our little team can put that much together from our little community,” Nichols said.
10th Annual Stick It For A Cure
What: Gymnastics Invitational for Cancer Awareness
Where: Coldwater High School"
When: Saturday, Feb. 8; Doors open at 8 a.m.
How it helps: Devoted to cancer awareness, the fundraising event supports the Promedica Coldwater Regional Hospital of Branch County. Activities include a gymnastics meet, donation raffle, silent auction, food and games.
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Members of the Coldwater gymnastics team hold up ribbons representing awareness for various forms of cancer. (Middle) The event includes the gymnastics meet, donation raffle, silent auction, food and games. (Photos courtesy of the Coldwater gymnastics program.)
Preview: Championship Opportunities Await Several 1st-Time Contenders
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 10, 2022
Jackson Area capped an exciting return of the Gymnastics Finals last season with its first team championship. We’ll see this weekend if that was the beginning of a trend.
Two of four Regional champions from last week – Livonia Red and Bloomfield Hills – will be seeking their first Team Finals championship Friday at White Lake Lakeland. Last season’s Division 1 and 2 individual champions both graduated, guaranteeing first-time winners Saturday as well.
Team competition begins at 4 p.m. Friday, with individual competition in both Divisions 1 and 2 beginning at noon Saturday. Tickets cost $11 each day and are available exclusively via GoFan.
Below is a glance at several of this weekend’s contenders. (Click for both days’ rotations.)
TEAM CONTENDERS
Bloomfield Hills: The Black Hawks finished fifth at last season’s Final and are trending upward. They won their Regional last weekend, scoring 139.925 to edge Farmington United by nine tenths of a point. That was the team’s highest score of the year after it previously set a season high in winning its league competition in mid-February.
Grand Ledge: The Comets finished third last season and are seeking their first Finals championship since concluding a run of six straight in 2013. They won their Regional with a statewide-best score of 147.125 and also won championships this winter at the Rockford, Kenowa Hills and Coldwater invitationals.
Livonia Red: Another Regional champion, Livonia Red (made up of gymnasts from Churchill and Franklin) set a team scoring record winning that meet with a 146.350 – the second-highest statewide last weekend. Red also finished second at the prestigious Canton Invitational, which is annually considered a preview of the MHSAA Finals, and won the Walled Lake Invitational.
Rockford: The Rams have been runners-up the last two seasons (2021 and 2019, with 2020’s Finals canceled because of COVID-19) and are seeking their first title since winning the third of three straight in 2017. They won the Canton Invitational and also were Regional champs scoring 143.700 last weekend.
Fowlerville/Byron/Pinckney/Chelsea: The lone Regional runner-up in this group, FBPC finished second to Grand Ledge with a score of 144.200 and defeated the Comets in their dual meet during the regular season. FBPC also won the 20-team Jeanne Carruss Memorial Invitational at the end of January.
DIVISION 1
Avery Boyk, Livonia Red senior: She’s an all-around contender again after finishing sixth last season with a tie for second on uneven parallel bars. She won her Regional all-around last week at 37.750 with firsts on balance beam (9.175) and bars (9.750).
Alyssa Budd, Jackson Area junior: Budd, a student at Napoleon, tied for ninth on beam and seventh on floor exercise last season. She won floor (9.675) in finishing second all-around at her Regional (36.075).
Madeleine Loomis, East Lansing senior: She finished 12th all-around last season and could be in for a big career finish after winning her Regional all-around at 37.825 with firsts on floor (9.650) and beam (9.600).
Morgan Ruffing, Livonia Red junior: She finished third all-around last season, paced by a tie for second on vault and solo seventh on bars. She won floor (9.800) at her Regional and was among the top four in all four events on the way to finishing second all-around (37.200).
Lacey Scheid, Rockford junior: She missed winning last season’s Division 1 all-around title by five hundredths of a point and took first on bars. She won vault (9.150) and balance beam (9.175) on the way to claiming last week’s Regional all-around title with a 36.825.
Bronwen Smith, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Unified junior: Smith, a student at Forest Hills Central, finished third all-around at her Regional with a 35.750 and a first on bars (9.025).
Emma Stewart, Salem junior: She’s a likely contender in her first season of high school gymnastics, placing third at her Regional with an all-around 36.850 thanks to a second on bars and two more third places.
Katie Stewart, Salem sophomore: Emma’s sister, Katie Stewart won vault (9.400) and was second on beam (9.075) in finishing fourth all-around (36.375) at the Regional.
Maeve Wright, Bloomfield Hills senior: She was fifth all-around last year with a third on floor and sixth on beam, and she won the Division 1 beam as a freshman. She won beam (9.350) and floor (9.600) last week on the way to finishing first all-around (36.850) at her Regional.
Alaina Yaney, Grand Ledge junior: She tied for ninth on vault and was 22nd all-around in 2021, and could make a big jump Saturday. She finished first on vault (9.425) and bars (9.450) in taking second all-around (37.650) at her Regional.
DIVISION 2
Charlotte Calhoun, Coldwater sophomore: She finished third all-around at her Regional (35.200) with a win on bars (8.850).
Sydney Dunn, Canton sophomore: She was a Regional all-around runner-up (35.000) with top-five finishes on three apparatuses.
Joey Gair, Rockford senior: She tied for fourth on beam on the way to finishing 13th all-around at last season’s Finals, and she could move up coming off a fourth place all-around (35.025) at her Regional.
Courtney Jordan, Plymouth senior: She won bars (9.000) and floor (9.550) and tied for first on beam (9.100) in placing first all-around at her Regional with a 36.350.
Audrey Kane, Howell senior: She finished ninth on bars and tied for eighth on floor at last season’s Finals, and she could be an all-around contender after finishing third with a 36.000 at her Regional.
Sarah Litz, Fowlerville/Byron/Pinckney/Chelsea senior: She finished sixth all-around at her Regional last week (35.825) as the six qualifying scores were separated by only six tenths of a point. A student at Fowlerville, she was fifth all-around at last year’s Finals with top-nine finishes on vault, beam and floor.
Ivy McDonald, Lowell junior: A first on beam (9.300) helped her finish second all-around at her Regional (35.550). She took third on beam and finished 11th all-around at last year’s Finals.
Emma Olds, Grand Ledge senior: She enters off a Regional all-around championship (36.425) and first on bars (9.225). She tied for third on vault and fifth on floor and was 10th on bars in finishing sixth all-around at the 2021 Finals.
Kamini Playle, Farmington United senior: She was part of a team championship as a freshman in 2019 and could make a move individually after finishing 20th all-around last season. She was second all-around at last week’s Regional (35.725) with a first on floor (9.275) and three second places.
Addison Richmond, Jackson Area senior: Richmond, a student at Jackson, tied for ninth all-around at last season’s Finals with a first place on floor. She returns coming off a fifth-place Regional all-around finish (34.650).
Grace Spencer, Farmington United junior: A student at Farmington, Spencer won the all-around at last weekend’s Regional with a 36.000 and firsts on beam (9.250) and bars (8.975).
Maty Temrowski, Linden/Fenton/Lake Fenton senior: A student at Fenton, she tied for 14th on vault and also competed on beam at last year’s Finals. She could be in the all-around mix this time after placing second at her Regional (36.125).
Anna Tracey, Rockford senior: She was first on beam and second on floor in finishing second all-around at last season’s Finals. She returns coming off a Regional all-around championship (35.575) paced by second places on beam and bars.
PHOTO Livonia Red's Morgan Ruffing competes on balance beam during last season's Division 1 Individual Finals at Rockford High School. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)