Performance of the Week: Salem's Emma Stewart
February 4, 2022
Emma Stewart ♦ Salem
Gymnastics ♦ Junior
An accomplished club gymnast, Stewart competed in her first high school invitational Saturday and scored a 36.325 to win the Division 1 all-around at the Jeanne Caruss Memorial Invitational at White Lake Lakeland. She took first places on the uneven parallel bars (9.55) and vault (9.2) and seventh on floor exercise (9.075).
Stewart also competes in track & field, having joined that program last spring as a sophomore. In her first season in that sport, she qualified for Lower Peninsula Division 1 Regional competition in high jump, long jump, pole vault and as part of Salem’s 400-meter relay. The oldest of three sisters, Stewart is joined by sophomore Kathryn on both teams.
Follow the MHSAA on TikTok.
Second Half’s "Performance of the Week" features are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
2021-22 Honorees
Jan. 28: Tyler Ray, Pinckney swimming - Report
Jan. 21: Elle Craven, Traverse City Central skiing - Report
Jan. 14: Nevaeh Williams, Mount Clemens basketball - Report
Dec. 2: Lucas Dunn, Chelsea football - Report
Nov. 25: Riley Nugent, Plainwell swimming - Report
Nov. 18: Harper Murray, Ann Arbor Skyline volleyball - Report
Nov. 11: Abby VanderKooi, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian cross country - Report
Nov. 4: Arianne Olson, Holland West Ottawa cross country - Report
Oct. 28: Jack Guggemos, Okemos soccer - Report
Oct. 21: Sachiv Kumar, Northville tennis - Report
Oct. 14: Kate Brody, Grand Blanc golf - Report
Oct. 7: Lilly Nelson, Negaunee tennis - Report
Sept. 30: Stella Chapman, Ann Arbor Pioneer swimming - Report
Sept. 23: Riley Hough, Hartland cross country - Report
Sept. 16: Josie Bloom, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Report
PHOTOS by Donoher Photography.
Rockford Shows Skill Across Every Event in Reclaiming Team Title
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 11, 2022
WHITE LAKE – There was definitely a different routine for Rockford before the actual routines began for the 2022 MHSAA Team Gymnastics Final on Friday at Lakeland High School.
For the first time since 2014, Rockford didn’t play host to the event.
So instead of coming to its home gym and trying to help set everything up, the Rams instead went through a bus trip and the process of getting acclimated to a new environment.
But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“I think it helped,” Rockford senior Anna Tracey said. “It allowed us to have some team bonding before we got to the meet. We just talked to each other and had fun.”
Indeed, Rockford did just fine away from home, reclaiming the championship throne by edging Grand Ledge. The Rams had 143.825 points to Grand Ledge’s total of 143.500.
After finishing as Final runner-up in 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 meet was cancelled due to COVID-19), Rockford won its first title since claiming the last of three in a row in 2017.
“We always want it, and we always are hopeful for it,” Rockford head coach Michele Ankney said. “We knew we were in the running this year. We weren’t sure where we would line up in the end. Gymnastics is a fickle sport sometimes.”
Rockford was the only team to have at least one top-four finish in every event, starting off by scoring third in the floor exercise.
Following a fourth-place finish in the bars and a third-place finish on the vault, the Rams saved their best for their last event, finishing first on the beam.
Leading the way was junior Lacey Scheid, who had a 9.550 on the floor, a 9.400 on the vault, a 9.100 on the bars and a 9.525 on the beam.
Tracey had a 9.175 on the floor, an 8.975 on the vault, an 8.850 on the bars and a 9.525 on the beam to flank Scheid for Rockford.
“We started strong,” Ankney said. “Our floor and bars were solid. And then we had a few mistakes on bars and beam and we didn’t know what that was going to do to us. This is 100 percent surprise right here.”
Traditional power Grand Ledge was seeking its first title since winning the last of six in a row in 2013, and the Comets finished first in both the floor and vault.
But a seventh-place finish in the beam and a sixth-place finish on the bars proved to be Grand Ledge’s undoing.
“We normally score higher on bars and a lot higher on beam,” longtime Comets head coach Duane Haring said. “Just nerves. I guess I’d be nervous too. But they did really well. Second place is nothing to sneeze at.”
The highest Metro Detroit finisher was Livonia Red, which took third with 142.950 points.
Brighton was fourth at 141.000, while Salem rounded out the top five with 140.825 points.
PHOTOS Click to see more by HighSchoolSportsScene.com.