Comets Vault to Record 6th MHSAA Title
March 8, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
CANTON – Grand Ledge’s gymnasts knew what was at stake as they warmed up for their last rotation of the MHSAA Team Final on Friday.
And they realized how much more would be lost if they didn’t rally one more time this season.
A streak of 92 straight victories over nearly six years had to weigh heavily upon their shoulders. Not that anyone at Plymouth High School could tell from the way the Comets vaulted to finish their run at a sixth-straight MHSAA title.
With Canton – runner-up the last two seasons – waiting to move up if Grand Ledge erred, seniors Lauren Clark and Sara Peltier came back from falls during warm-ups to land vaults of 9.6 and 9.525, respectively. Instead of falling back, the Comets nearly tripled their 1.375-point lead to finish with a score 149.350 and another championship.
“We knew we all had to nail vault to be able to win. We knew we all had to land on our feet,” Clark said. “We knew it was tight, but we still knew we could do it. So I think during vault warm-ups, we kept our heads together, talked calm. We knew what we had to do.”
And the Comets have done more than any gymnastics program in MHSAA history.
Grand Ledge became the first to win six straight titles after coming into this season tied with Ludington’s 1975-79 teams for the longest Finals win streak.
With their sixth-straight Division 1 individual champion graduated last spring, and three freshmen entering the lineup this winter, this was the season the Comets were supposed to be nervous.
Instead, they won this Final by their largest margin of the six.
“Our other ones, we had kids who came in with pretty good experience. All we did was up their values so they would score better,” Grand Ledge coach Duane Haring said. “This year we put three freshmen out there. To put freshmen out there to score well, especially against teams like Canton, Farmington, Rockford … I wasn’t sure what we were going to do. I was hoping to get 149s, but that was my goal. I wasn’t sure it was going to be possible.”
But he knew his team would be strong on floor. And he knew they could vault.
Grand Ledge finished first on all four apparatuses Friday, but by more than a point on those two – placing 1.425 better than the field on vault with a score of 37.975, and 1.375 better than the rest on floor with a score of 38.300.
Peltier – last season’s Division 2 individual champion – had the high all-around score Friday among those who competed in all four events, with a 38.250. Junior Presley Allison was right behind with a 38.000, followed by freshman Rachel Hogan at 37.250 and Clark at 35.850.
Neither senior experienced a team loss during their high school careers.
“We were really relaxed; last year we were pretty stressed,” Peltier said. “We just knew if we tried our best, everything would be fine.
“It was a great goal, and we achieved our goal, and we all feel really completed.”
In finishing runner-up for the third straight season, Canton put up a courageous effort despite falls on beam and bars.
At the end of Jocelyn Moraw’s bars routine, coach John Cunningham leaned in close and told her he was proud of his standout sophomore – who competed with a painfully strained hamstring and a sore back.
Still, she finished with an all-around score of 36.500 to follow up junior teammate Melissa Green’s 37.100. Junior Erica Lucas posted a 35.725.
“You can’t say that they didn’t gut it out and do the best they could,” Cunningham said. “We just didn’t have a great meet. You can’t (fall) if you want to beat Grand Ledge; they’re just that good."
Canton’s season could be next, as only senior Nicole Lasecki graduates from a team that had two freshmen and two sophomores compete Friday, and had two more freshmen who didn't but regularly have broken 9.0 this season.
Grand Ledge will have a challenge ahead, with the one-two captain punch of Clark and Peltier gone.
“They can do it again if they all just stay together, do what we did this year, and keep their confidence level up and their heads held up high,” Clark said. “They’re a great group of girls, even without me and Sara. And the juniors this year will be great captains next year.”
Canton finished with a team score of 145.750, followed by Farmington’s 141.475. Junior Meredith Jonik scored 36.000 all-around and freshman Carina Wright scored 35.975 for Farmington. Freshman Morgan Korf scored a 36.650 to lead fourth-place Rockford/Sparta.
PHOTOS: Seniors Sara Peltier (left holding trophy) and Lauren Clark (right holding trophy) captained Grand Ledge's sixth-straight championship team this season. (Middle) Comets junior Presley Allison posted an all-around score of 38.000 on Friday. (Bottom) Canton freshman Maddie Toal scored a 9.475 on beam for the runner-up Chiefs. (Photos by Gregory Long. Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
2021 Champs Make Up for 2020's Lost Opportunities
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 27, 2021
ROCKFORD – Lizzie Maurer’s 2020 bid for an all-around gymnastics championship was cut short as the pandemic ended last season prematurely.
The Grand Ledge senior had one more shot at achieving her goal at Saturday’s MHSAA Individual Finals at Rockford High School – and she made the most of it.
Maurer claimed the Division 1 individual all-around championship with a total score of 37.450 across her four events.
She clipped Rockford sophomore Lacey Sheid, who finished with a 37.400.
Farmington United senior Sydney Schultz won the all-around in Division 2 with a score of 37.000, while Rockford’s Anna Tracey (35.775) placed runner-up.
Maurer placed fourth in the Division 1 all-around two years ago and was looking forward to her final chance.
“Ever since my freshman year, my coach and I kind of knew that I had the potential to win,” Mauer said. “And after having that taken away from me last year with COVID and everything, I really wanted to come in this year and try my hardest to fight for that top spot.”
Maurer won three of the four events. She took top honors in the floor exercise by producing a career-best score (9.8) and also won vault (9.525) while tying Livonia Stevenson’s Autumn Wronikowski on the balance beam as both scored a 9.575.
The beam gave Maurer troubles in the team competition Friday night, as she fell, but she redeemed herself in victorious fashion.
She also overcame a minor injury on her first rotation of the day.
“I had a pretty bad bar rotation and I injured my elbow, so we weren’t sure how I was going to do,” Maurer said. “It was a rough way to start the meet, but I’m really proud of how I did on everything.
“I stayed on the beam and won, and on floor I had my highest score in my gymnastics career. I hit my first 9.8 so that really got me motivated to do vault.”
Maurer knew she needed a high score in that final event.
“We were looking at other people’s scores and saw I needed that 9.5 to win,” she said. “I just really ran into that vault, and sticking it I think was the highlight because it was the end of my career and it’s what won the meet for me.”
Scheid topped the field in the beam with a score of 9.650 and was runner-up to Maurer in the floor exercise.
“I was so happy with my bars,” Scheid said. “I have not hit a good bar routine in a while. I didn’t hit my feet on my bail and I almost stuck my double, so I was super proud of it.”
A tough beam effort prevented Scheid from overtaking Maurer.
“I’m a little disappointed because of my beam performance,” she said. “If I would’ve stayed on the beam I could’ve won, but that’s OK. I’m super proud of how I did and super proud of who won because she did an amazing job.”
Scheid was making her debut appearance at the Finals.
“This was my first state meet because I had never done high school gymnastics, so my expectations were very low,” Scheid said. “I just wanted to get a feel of the environment and what to expect. My goal was to not win, it was to have fun and stay calm. I hope I can carry that throughout to senior year.”
Schultz notched high scores on the vault (9.450) and bars (9.225). She tied for third on floor (9.125).
“I just tried to take one event at a time,” Schultz said. “I was just trying to keep my cool, I guess.”
Schultz finished sixth in the all-around at the 2019 Finals.
“I was just happy that I kept a positive attitude through all of it,” Schultz said. “I have a hard time with that sometimes.”
Tracey, a junior, snagged the beam title with a score of 9.375. Jackson’s Addi Richmond won the Division 2 floor exercise with a 9.325.
Click for full Division 1 and Division 2 results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Ledge's Lizzie Maurer performs her beam routine during Saturday's Division 1 Individual Finals. (Middle) Rockford/Sparta's Lacey Sheid performs her floor exercise routine. (Below) Farmington United's Sydney Schultz also performs on floor. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)