Jackson ‘Just Gives Best,’ Proves Best of All in Finals Stunner
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 26, 2021
ROCKFORD – The Jackson Area gymnastics team entered Friday’s MHSAA Team Final at Rockford High School with no expectations.
They left with a shocking victory.
Jackson won the program’s first Finals by the slimmest of margins over runner-up Rockford/Sparta.
The senior-led squad finished with a team score of 144.775, while Rockford/Sparta ended the day with a 144.5.
“It’s unbelievable,” an emotional Jackson coach Marcy Miller said. “We just had no idea, and we didn’t want to know the scores. We just came in here trying to do our best, and we told the girls we didn’t want to be in last place. That was it.”
Jackson had never finished in the top 10 at the Finals. Its best previous finish was 12th – which made the win that much more surprising, as well as satisfying.
“We had no expectations coming in,” Miller said. “It’s been a hard year and a hard week, and they only got to practice two days. We just wanted to come here and have fun and I’m so proud of them. I could not ask for a better group of girls.”
The Finals victory was spearheaded by a talented core of four seniors: Cara Fries, Abi Grimm, Kaelin Schiffer and Amelia Hamlin.
“We didn’t look at any other scores, and we were in the dark as far as where we were versus where the other teams were,” Fries said. “I think in the end that turned out well when we were competing. When they were announcing the scores, I was just hoping that we had done it.”
Balance beam was the event that propelled Jackson to the top.
It scored a team total of 36.825 on that apparatus, which was the highest of the 14 teams competing.
“They stayed on the beam, they stuck beam and they were confident on the beam,” Miller said. “And they just took that confidence into everything they did today. Our seniors were great leaders, and not only are they fantastic gymnasts, but they are good humans and that’s more important than anything else.”
Jackson had placed runner-up at Regionals to Rockford/Sparta, trailing by five hundredths of a point.
“This feels awesome, and we had no idea coming in what to expect because we had never placed anywhere near the top,” Hamlin said. “This is the first time for us, and we were all just shocked. After each meet, we just wanted to do better and better and we came here and put it all out there and it paid off.”
Added Grim: “I just wanted the team to come in here and have fun and leave it all on the equipment. Last year we didn’t get a state finals, so the fact that we got one this year is really amazing.”
Schiffer said it was a memorable meet.
“It’s pretty cool to win the first one, and we accomplished everything we could’ve dreamed of,” she said.
Rockford/Sparta was seeking its first Finals’ win since 2017. The team won three consecutive titles from 2015-17 and placed runner-up in 2019 to Farmington.
“We are so thrilled with our second-place finish,” Rockford/Sparta coach Michelle Ankney said. “We came out and bettered ourselves from Regionals on two of our events and just did what we could. I’m very proud of where we ended up.”
Rockford/Sparta graduated six seniors from a year ago, when the Finals was canceled due to the pandemic.
“All of these girls were brand new to state competition, so they did great,” Ankney said. “We will graduate only one senior, so we will be back next year.”
Ankney, whose team was led by Lacey Scheid, said the opportunity to compete this season was a blessing.
“We kept our fingers crossed for a season,” she said. “I was a little nervous all week that something was going to happen, so to get to the end was a huge relief. We competed today, and they had so much fun.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Jackson Area claimed its first Team Finals championship Friday in part because of a meet-best 37.725 on floor exercise. (Middle) Rockford/Sparta finished runner-up overall and also broke 37 points on floor. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Performance: Grand Ledge's Rachel Hogan
February 11, 2016
Rachel Hogan
Grand Ledge senior – Gymnastics
Hogan finished 10th, second (by a tenth of a point) and third in MHSAA Finals Division 1 all-around competitions her first three seasons of high school, respectively, making her a strong favorite to claim the championship heading into this winter. A sprained right ankle before the first meet has slowed her down a bit – but she re-established herself as a top contender by winning Saturday’s Canton Invitational Division 1 championship with an all-around score of 38.225, earning the Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
The event annually is considered the most competitive of the regular season, featuring most of the best gymnasts from across the state, and Hogan also won Division 1 as a junior. This time, she finished first on vault scoring a 9.7, first on uneven parallel bars at 9.625, won balance beam at 9.5, and finished second on the floor exercise with a 9.4 – despite holding back some of her toughest skills as her ankle continues to heal. Her team as a whole is struggling through injuries and finished sixth.
Hogan has won five individual MHSAA Finals championships during her career – Division 1 vault twice, floor twice and bars once. Adding another next month at Rockford would give the Comets at least one individual Division 1 champion for a 10th straight season, and she’s also going for her school’s ninth Division 1 all-around championship over the last 14 seasons. She was a freshman when Grand Ledge won its sixth straight team championship in 2013, and she scored the top all-around score of last season’s Team Final to help the Comets to third place – a surprising finish because Grand Ledge only qualified for the Final as the top-scoring fourth-place Regional finisher. Hogan also has played the flute since middle school and been part of Grand Ledge’s marching band the last four years. She carries a 3.89 grade-point average and is planning to attend Michigan State University after graduation to study packaging engineering.
Coach Duane Haring said: “She’s a tough little kid. We didn’t let her do much (before Canton); we couldn’t. She’s the one who actually pushed herself to get where she is right now. There are so many athletes I know, and I’ve coached some, who have a little pain and they’re done or go 50 percent. Rachel said, ‘My ankle hurts, but I’m still going to practice and do everything.’ And she is. She has never given up, never ever.”
Performance Point: “As a team, we could’ve done better, but we are all injured right now; I’m definitely not the only person with a sprained ankle. Me personally, it was a really good comeback meet. I think as a team, for that meet, we realized we have to start stepping it up, modifying some of our routines, even if we’re injured so we can get through stuff and get the scores we need.”
‘Tough little kid’: “I think a lot of it comes from a drive. Something has to motivate you. I know my coach motivates me a lot. He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. He puts so much time into us, and we really have to give that back to him somehow. I need to do my best … and that’s for the team, too.”
Be the example: “I definitely try to lead by example. I try to be more of a friend to them than a leader, so I can be a person they can talk to, so they can trust me. When they’re struggling with something, they can come to me, and I’ll help them get through that. I hope I’m motivation for them; they see me doing my best, working hard, and they will do that as well. They’re getting there.”
Veteran voice: “I’ve learned to never give up. Because over the years we’ve lost our strongest gymnasts, but the gymnasts we have, we should never give up on them, never think they don’t have potential, because they all do. It’s good to almost expect more out of them than they think, because it gives them that confidence. They’ll do their best things when people aren’t expecting them.”
Next in Comets’ Legacy: “There’s a little bit of pressure that comes with that. Those gymnasts were such good gymnasts. I look up to them a lot. (Coach Haring) always tells us stories about his top gymnasts. It’s always cool to hear how much they accomplished, and you can tell he gets really excited about us doing well. Especially when he’s talking about his past gymnasts, I want him to talk about us to his future gymnasts.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our Nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
Feb. 3: Nehemiah Mork, Midland Dow swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 27: Mardrekia Cook, Muskegon girls basketball - Read
Jan. 20: Sage Castillo, Hartland wrestling - Read
Jan. 13: Rob Zofchak, Dexter swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Ledge's Rachel Hogan competes in floor exercise. (Middle) Hogan performs her balance beam routine. (Photos by Marvin Hall Photography.)