Preview: Field Full of Contenders
March 11, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Canton gymnastics team truly was a feel-good story in 2014 as it claimed its first MHSAA championship after three straight runner-up finishes, while ending Grand Ledge’s run of six straight titles.
The Chiefs are a likely favorite again Friday at Rockford High School – but nine of 12 other finalists are hoping to follow Canton and become the next first-time MHSAA Finals champion.
Team competition begins at 2 p.m. Friday, with the final rotation scheduled for 6:40 p.m. Individual competition in both Divisions 1 and 2 begins at noon Saturday.
Two-time Division 1 individual champion Christina Shabet graduated from Troy last spring. But Grand Ledge junior Rachel Hogan is back after finishing runner-up, and reigning Division 2 champion Cassidy Terhorst is back as only a junior. Read on for more on both and others who also should be in the hunt for individual titles, plus a number of teams that should be in contention Friday. Click for rotation schedules for both days of competition.
Team contenders
Canton – The reigning MHSAA champion won the most competitive Regional last weekend with the top Regional score anywhere this winter, 146.500, despite losing top 2014 all-around finisher Jocelyn Moraw to an injury midseason. The Chiefs still boast three Division 1 contenders and a Division 2 favorite among a strong group of contributors.
Farmington – Last season’s third-place Finals finisher also was a Regional champion at 141.600 and will return this weekend with four of six who competed in last year’s Final, along with a top freshman. The Falcons finished second to Canton at White Lake Lakeland’s Invitational in January.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills United – Last season’s fifth-place finisher should be in good position for another top finish with a trio of strong Division 1 gymnasts and the Division 2 reigning champion leading the way. Forest Hills Central finished second to Rockford at their Regional, scoring 143.925.
Grosse Pointe United – The Blue Devils are an intriguing possibility among teams seeking a first MHSAA championship. They finished second to Canton at their Regional at 144.375 after finishing fourth at last season’s Final – and return their top three all-around competitors from the 2013-14 team.
Plymouth – The Wildcats finished third to Canton and Grosse Pointe South at their Regional, but scored 143.500. Plymouth returns this weekend with both gymnasts who competed all-around when the team finished sixth a year ago.
Rockford/Sparta – This season’s host won its Regional by a point with a score of 144.925 and took four of the top six in the Division 1 all-around after missing the Finals last season. The Rams have won the MHSAA team title once – in 1989 – and have the star power at the top to make a run. They won the Canton Invitational in February ahead of both the host Chiefs and Grosse Pointe South.
Division 1
Katie Fabian, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart junior – Went from competing on one apparatus at the Regional as a sophomore to winning the all-around this season in 35.125 and taking first on beam in 9.150.
Mary Grace Fries, Jackson Lumen Christi senior – A Regional champion scoring 37.300, she could make a jump from last season’s eighth-place Finals finish. Fries also won the Regional title on beam at 9.525.
Rachel Hogan, Grand Ledge junior – Her team might not be among the favorites this time, but Hogan is the likely contender to catch in the Division 1 individual competition after she finished second by a tenth of a point a year ago. Hogan won vault and tied for first on bars at the 2014 Final, won floor at the 2013 Final, and claimed last weekend’s Regional title at 38.825 – with a 10.000 on vault, 9.500 on bars, 9.550 on beam and 9.725 on floor to finish first on all four.
Morgan Korf, Rockford/Sparta junior – Finished 11th and 18th in Division 1 her first two years of high school, respectively, and should surge after putting up a 37.175 all-around at her Regional to finish second to Hogan. She also took second in vault (9.600) and beam (9.550).
Allison Kunz, Canton senior – Finished second in the all-around at 37.175 in a loaded Regional, winning bars (9.625) and taking second on floor (9.650) and vault (9.300). She did win the all-around at the White Lake Lakeland Invitational at 37.975.
Margo Mekjian, Brighton junior – Finished second to Fries at their Regional with an all-around score of 36.400 and won the vault in 9.600. She finished 12th at last season’s Final among a strong group of contenders who all broke 36.000.
Haley Metz, Plymouth sophomore – Won her Regional in a school-record 36.950 and finished second on bars in 9.425. She took 13th in the Finals all-around as a freshman.
Madi Myers, Rockford/Sparta junior – The only Sparta athlete on the Rockford/Sparta co-op team, Myers finally will compete in a Finals after injuries derailed her first two opportunities. She finished third all-around (36.825) at her Regional and took second on floor (9.550), but won her Regional as a freshman.
Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe United sophomore – After finishing fifth all-around in the Final last season, took first at her Regional last weekend with a score of 37.575. She also won the vault in 9.500.
Maria Nguyen, Grosse Pointe United senior – Finished less than a point behind her sister, Isabelle (above), to take fourth at the Regional in 36.725 after finishing 14th all-around at last season’s Final.
Carina Wright, Farmington junior – Finished sixth all-around at last season’s Final and third as a freshman. Wright placed second at her Regional last weekend with a score of 34.675 and won vault after also taking second all-around at her Regional as a sophomore.
Division 2
Elisa Bills, Farmington freshman – The Falcons’ first-year standout finished second all-around at her Regional with a 35.000 and a pair of first places in the bars (8.800) and vault (9.000).
Lauren DeHaan, Lowell senior – Tied for 12th all-around at last season’s Final and should be a contender despite finishing fifth (35.575) in last weekend’s most competitive Division 2 Regional field, at Kenowa Hills.
Hailey Hodgson, Canton junior – Won her Regional in 36.000 after tying a teammate for the Regional title in 2014. Hodgson finished first on floor (9.200), beam (9.050) and vault (9.300) and should be in the hunt Saturday after finishing fourth all-around a year ago.
Kelly Momber, Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills/West Catholic/Grandville senior – Won the all-around at her home gym with a score of 37.100 while taking first on beam (9.475) and floor (9.660). Momber tied for 12th all-around at last season’s Final.
Brianna Rhoad, Livonia Blue junior – Finished seventh and 15th in her first two MHSAA Finals, respectively, and should move up after taking second at last weekend’s Regional with a 35.775.
Marissa Schuh, Farmington senior – Came in 14th all-around at last season’s Final but should also move up significantly after taking first in the all-around at her Regional at 35.475 and winning beam with a 9.200.
Tiana Seville, Grand Ledge junior – After missing last season with an injury, Seville could finish this winter well after taking third at her Regional with a 36.125. She was first on vault at 9.500 and should be a favorite on that apparatus.
Cassidy Terhorst, Grand Rapids Forest Hills United junior – The reigning Division 2 all-around champion finished second at her Regional with a 36.825 but easily could push back to the top this weekend. She finished first on bars at the Regional with a 9.300 but can score high on various skills – she took three second places in winning last year’s Final.
Alyssa Walker, Howell sophomore – Led the Highlanders to their first team Regional title and won the individual all-around in 36.075. Perhaps more impressively, Walker also finished first in a loaded field at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association end-of-season meet.
Jessica Weak, Livonia Blue sophomore – Another top competitor from the strong KLAA, Weak finished eighth all-around at last season’s Final but was third at her Regional last weekend with a 35.725. She also took second on floor at the Regional with a 9.150.
Kacy Wolfram, Howell sophomore – With Walker, also played a big part in Howell’s first team Regional title and finished second all-around with a 35.325. She’ll should be in the mix on vault after winning that apparatus with a 9.500.
PHOTO: Canton’s Hailey Hodgson, here on balance beam, helped her team to its first MHSAA championship last season.
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.)