Finals Preview: Grand Ledge Seeks 7
March 6, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Arguably the most impressive current winning streak in any MHSAA sport will be on the line Friday at Plymouth High School.
The Grand Ledge gymnastics team has won more than 100 straight events – duals and invitationals – and will compete for a seventh straight MHSAA Finals team championship.
The reigning Division 1 and 2 individual champions also will be back for Saturday’s competition – and this time both compete in Division 1.
Team Finals are Friday beginning at 2 p.m., with Individual Finals at noon Saturday. Click for a complete list of qualifiers, Regional results and this weekend’s rotation schedules, and see below for some of the teams and individuals who could make a run at the top.
Team contenders
Grand Ledge – At this point, the championship is Grand Ledge’s to lose. Grand Ledge’s 145.050 was the second-highest Regional score in the state, and five of last season’s top seven gymnasts should make the Comets a contender again – even if numerically they may not be the favorite this time.
Canton – After three straight runner-up finishes, Canton could finally end Grand Ledge’s winning streak featuring a number of top athletes who have gained plenty of experience the last few seasons. Canton’s 147.650 was the highest Regional score in the state last week, and the Chiefs also won their invite – generally the most prestigious event of the regular season – in February.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills – With three Division 1 contributors and a host of veterans, Forest Hills looks good to move up from last season’s sixth-place finish. Its 144.075 to finish second at the Regional indicates the potential to push into the top three.
Farmington – The state’s power program before Grand Ledge and runner-up to the Comets in 2010 and 2008, Farmington is back in the mix after finishing third at last season’s Final. The 144.575 score to win the Regional was the third highest in the state last week.
Division 1
Presley Allison, Grand Ledge senior – Last year’s Division 2 individual champion is a contender again after moving up a level. She won vault and beam at her Regional and finished second only to teammate Rachel Hogan with an all-around score of 37.975.
Paige Blythe, Howell senior – Tied for first at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association meet with a score of 36.875 and finished runner-up at her Regional after taking 13th at last season’s Division 1 Final.
Melissa Green, Canton senior – Last season’s fourth-place finisher in Division 1 at the MHSAA Final, she won a tough Regional last week with a score of 37.550 while finishing first on floor and vault.
Rachel Hogan, Grand Ledge sophomore – Contributed on last season’s team champion despite being a freshman. She also finished 10th in the Division 1 individual standings and won the championship on floor. She won her Regional last weekend in 38.100.
Morgan Korf, Rockford/Sparta sophomore – Finished 11th in the Division 1 all-around as a freshman and took third at her Regional with a score of 36.025, finishing just behind the pair of Grand Ledge standouts.
Jocelyn Moraw, Canton junior – Won the Division 1 Final on beam in 2013 and is an all-around contender as well after placing fifth last season. Moraw finished second to teammate Green at the Regional with a score of 37.475.
Christina Shabet, Troy senior – The reigning Division 1 individual champion pulled off an all-around effort last season with places of second, fifth, tied for seventh and 12th on the four apparatuses. She distanced herself at last weekend’s Regional with a 38.525 score to win.
Carina Wright, Farmington sophomore – The only one who hung with Shabet at their Regional, Wright finished second with 37 points. She hung with Shabet at last season’s Final as well, finishing a close third, only .325 points back of the champion.
Division 2
Lauren DeHaan, Lowell junior – Finished second at her Regional with a score of 35.350 after competing on beam and vault at the 2013 Division 2 Final.
Hailey Hodgson, Canton sophomore – Tied teammate Erica Lucas for the Regional championship with an all-around score of 35.825; she placed second on two apparatuses, tied for fourth and finished fifth on the other two.
Meredith Jonik, Farmington senior – Last season’s fourth-place finisher in Division 2 is one of the favorites again. She won her Regional with a score of 36.400, placing first on bars.
Erica Lucas, Canton senior – Won the Division 2 vault championship the last two seasons and might be the all-around favorite. She tied for first at her Regional with Hodgson with a score of 35.825 after finishing ninth all-around at last season’s Final.
Julia Mastracci, Troy Athens/Avondale – Finished runner-up to Jonik at their Regional with an all-around score of 35.800. She was eighth at last season’s Final and should push for a top-five finish this time.
Brianna Rhoad, Livonia Blue – Finished seventh at last season’s Division 2 Final. She took an impressive third behind the Canton pair at their Regional with a score of 35.700.
Cassidy Terhorst, Grand Rapids Forest Hills sophomore – Finished first at her Regional with a score of 36.500 after taking first places on three apparatuses.
PHOTO: Grand Ledge poses with its championship trophy after winning its Regional last week. (Photo courtesy of Greg Long).
Escanaba Vaulting Into Regional off Program-Record Team Score
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
March 4, 2022
ESCANABA — The Escanaba gymnasts are enjoying a record-breaking season as they head into MHSAA Tournament competition.
The team has turned in five school scoring records, with its most recent at Negaunee on Feb. 21 in earning the Great Northern Conference title with 135.05 points.
They’re looking forward to the Regional meet Saturday at Rockford.
“Before the season I couldn’t even imagine getting scores that high,” said sophomore Sophia Wagner, who won vault with a perfect 9.4 score Dec. 7 in a dual meet at Negaunee. “Our team scores have been above 120 points all year. We all push each other to get better. I think qualifying for the Regionals as a team was our biggest highlight. Getting that done early gave us more time to work on new skills. This has been an exciting season.”
All this has taken place during a year in which Escanaba gymnastics is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
“The girls are driving each other to get better in every practice,” said coach Theresa Pascoe. “When you can practice every day on a spring floor (at Triple A Gymnastics), it makes you want to get better. What’s making our team so much stronger is having newer equipment. You can only go so far on older equipment.
“It seems like the girls want to practice all the time. One time I gave them a day off and they all showed up. They want to do all the things the girls do downstate. If the girls want to do more, that’s my motivation to be here.”
They achieved their previous best score while winning their own invitational Feb. 5 with 134.1 points.
“That’s a great feeling,” said senior Lizzy Sliva, whose personal-best score in vault is 9.3. “It’s a lot of fun being on this team. We were able to qualify for the Team Regionals within our first four meets which is important because there’s a lot of stress at first. Once we did that, I was able to focus on getting my routines cleaner and adding difficulty. I want to keep challenging myself in all four events.”
In their previous outing, the Eskymos were runners-up at the Vassar Invitational on Feb. 19.
On Jan. 29, they placed sixth among 10 teams in the Antigo, Wis., Invitational, which is among the oldest meets in the region.
“That was a big accomplishment,” said Sliva. “Valders (Wis.) Invitational is similar to Antigo. Valders and Coldwater (Invitationals) are fun meets. The competition downstate is just as good as in Wisconsin. It’s a lot of fun going down there and competing on a spring floor.
Senior Caitlyn Davenport had similar thoughts.
“This season has really been exciting,” she said. “I’m proud to be part of this team. This has definitely been our best season. Everybody has come together and been helping each other. Qualifying for the Team Regional has taken a lot of the pressure off. It feels like we’ve been making a lot of progress. I’ve been at a lot of open gyms and done weight training during the offseason. I think we’re pretty close with the teams in Wisconsin, and going downstate has definitely gotten us more experience.”
Escanaba’s score at the GNC meet was nearly eight points better than last year’s highest (127.1).
“This has been a great year,” said sophomore Bridget Bichler. “We have a real strong team. We’ve made a real big jump from last year. When we broke 130, it was real exciting. It was a great confidence builder, and to be able to get high scores downstate is real encouraging. We got a compliment from one judge in Coldwater who told us how impressed he was with our team. It’s a great feeling.”
The gymnasts also gained experience from other venues, according to Pascoe.
“Five of our girls have competed in age group programs in USA Gymnastics,” she said. “Several are doing kips on beam, which is something that doesn’t happen very often. For so many years we had been near the bottom in Wisconsin meets. Now we’re holding our own. We have a very small team in numbers (eight), but most of the girls have been in gymnastics nearly all their lives. We have a lot of experience.”
Freshman Sophie Lehto said she has noticed a major change from the younger levels.
“This has been a great learning experience,” she said. “We’ve been working on a lot more skills and more difficult skills. There’s a lot more development, and the competition is very different. It was a significant step.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Escanaba celebrates its Great Northern Conference team gymnastics championship last month. (Middle) Caitlyn Davenport competes on balance beam during an early February meet with Negaunee. (Top photo courtesy of Escanaba gymnastics, middle courtesy of the Escanaba Daily Press.)