Preview: Plenty of Title Opportunities
March 9, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
While last year’s MHSAA Gymnastics Team Final featured a group of veteran contenders rising as expected to the top, Friday’s season finale could be one of the most wide-open in some time.
Two-time reigning champion Rockford has surged again with a mix of old and new contributors, and looks like a favorite once more. So too does 2014 champion Canton, and Farmington has an opportunity to win in a way that definitely is rare; more on that below. Brighton and Forest Hills are among contenders seeking to win an MHSAA title for the first time.
Individually, there are guaranteed to be new champions both in Division 1 and 2 – but with some high placers from the last few seasons hoping to top the podium.
Team competition begins at 2 p.m. Friday at Plymouth, with the final rotation scheduled for 6:40 p.m. Individual competition in both Divisions 1 and 2 begins at noon Saturday.
Read on for a glance at a number of contenders with high hopes this weekend, and click for rotation schedules for both days of competition.
Team Contenders
Brighton – The Bulldogs have finished seventh, eighth and 10th over the last three seasons, respectively, but have a great chance to contend Friday coming off a Regional title won with the third highest score in the state last weekend, 144.600. Seniors Courtney Casper and Hannah Bracken took first and second in the Division 1 all-around at the Regional, and four gymnastics earned all-around places in Division 2.
Canton – The Chiefs finished fifth last season after five years coming in either first or second, but they’re poised to return to contention coming off a Regional win (143.425) and runner-up finish earlier at their prestigious Canton Invitational. Junior Victoria Faber was the individual Division 1 champion at the Regional, while teammates Kelsea Kernosek and Jana Hilditch took fifth and seventh, respectively, and Katie Dickson was 11th. Rachel Socha was third in the Division 2 all-around. Hilditch, Dickson and Kernosek placed among the top 15 in Division 1 at last season’s Individual Finals.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills United – Forest Hills earned its first top-two finish ever last season, coming in runner-up and 1.25 points behind Rockford/Sparta. Forest Hills finished behind Rockford by 3.425 at last week’s Regional but posted a score of 144.375. Senior Christine Byam was Division 1 individual runner-up last weekend – she took sixth at last season’s Finals.
Farmington – After moving up from fifth in 2015 to third last winter, Farmington might be the favorite with the second-highest Regional score last week (146.225) plus first places earlier at the Canton Invitational and Rockford Invitational. A championship would truly be impressive – Farmington has a stellar group of Division 2 gymnasts, including three who have qualified for the Individual Finals all-around, but none competing in Division 1. Junior Elisa Bills and senior Jacquelyn Farquhar were second and third, respectively, in Division 2 at last season’s Finals.
Rockford – The Rams graduated two of the state’s best of the last few seasons last spring coming of their second straight team championship. But they’re right back in the mix after scoring a state-high 147.800 to win their Regional last week. Seniors Nicole Coughlin, Carly Coughlin and Kaitie Killinger all contributed at last year’s Team Final and took first, third and fifth, respectively, in Division 1 at last week’s Regional as the Rams also took three of the top four all-around places in Division 2. They were third at the Canton Invitational and second at their own, but won the Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills Invitational.
Division 1
Hannah Bracken, Brighton senior – She finished second to teammate Casper at their Regional with an all-around 35.800 and was top four on every apparatus. She finished 20th all-around in Division 1 at last season’s Finals but took second on vault (9.675).
Christine Byam, Forest Hills United senior – After finishing sixth all-around at last season’s Finals, Byam could make a run at the top spot after finishing second but only a tenth of a point out of first at her Regional with a 37.300.
Emily Caragay, Plymouth junior – She set her school’s all-around record earlier this season of 37.250 and was second at her Regional last weekend with a 36.575.
Courtney Casper, Brighton senior – She’s won Kensington Lakes Activities Association and Regional championships ahead of some of the others on this list, last week earning her championship with a score of 37.375 and first places in three of four events.
Carly Coughlin, Rockford senior – Although she did not contend for the all-around at last season’s Finals, she was sixth on floor and tied for 11th on beam, and she should be in the all-around mix this time after posting a 36.775 to finish third all-around at her Regional.
Nicole Coughlin, Rockford senior – She’s finished fifth and third all-around, respectively, over the last two seasons and should make one last run at the title. Coughlin edged Byam to win their Regional with a 37.400, and she’s also the reigning Division 1 Finals champion on beam.
Victoria Faber, Canton junior – Faber won a strong Regional by 25 hundredths of a point over Caragay, with a score of 36.600 and a first place on bars. She also won bars at her team’s Canton Invitational.
Kaitie Killinger, Rockford senior – Killinger was in the team mix last season, competing on two apparatuses as her team won the title, but she could make an impact in Saturday’s individual competition after posting a fourth-place 36.675 at her Regional.
Erin McCallum, Northville junior – McCallum won vault and finished third all-around (36.200) behind Faber and Caragay at their Regional, and she should take a big jump this weekend after tying for 17th all-around a year ago.
Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe United senior – Nguyen added a Regional title (37.400) to her Canton Invitational win earlier this season, and she’s arguably the favorite in Division 1 after finishing fifth, second and second all-around, respectively, at the Finals the last three seasons.
Brianne Smith, Port Huron sophomore – Smith finished second to Nguyen at their Regional for the second year in a row, this time posting a 36.550. She placed 12th at last season’s Finals, tying for second on beam, and could climb this weekend.
Division 2
Karmen Anderson, Lowell senior – After competing at the Finals in vault and bars as a junior, Anderson is contending for a top all-around finish in her final high school meet. She won beam on the way to the all-around title at her Regional (35.650).
Elisa Bills, Farmington junior – Bills finished seventh in Division 2 as a freshman and second last season only three tenths of a point off the lead. She won last week’s Regional (37.375) with firsts on floor, vault and bars.
Jacquelyn Farquhar, Farmington senior – Like her teammate Bills, Farquhar has continued to climb from ninth in 2015 to third last winter, and she finished second to Bills at the Regional (36.900) while winning beam.
Afton LaFrance, Grand Ledge senior – After finishing fourth on floor at last season’s Finals, LaFrance looks to contend all-around coming off a Regional title (36.100) and a floor win last week.
Kennedi Seals, Farmington senior – Seals finished third of four teammates and third overall all-around at their Regional (35.850) and should be in the mix with them again.
Alyssa Walker, Howell senior – Walker has finished fourth all-around two seasons in a row and will try to finish strong again after taking second all-around at her Regional (35.750) but with a win on beam – which she also won at the Finals last season.
Jessica Weak, Livonia Blue senior – Weak jumped from 18th as a sophomore to tie for fifth last season, her second top-eight finish at the Finals, and she’s in contention to end her career number one. She won her Regional (35.650) and is the reigning Finals bars champion.
PHOTO: Rockford is shooting for its third straight MHSAA team championship, led by sisters Carly and Nicole Coughlin.
Performance: Farmington United's Elena Vargo
February 7, 2020
Elena Vargo
Farmington United senior - Gymnastics
The reigning MHSAA Division 1 Finals champion continued her undefeated run through high school gymnastics by finishing first in the all-around competition and leading Farmington United to the team title at Saturday’s Canton Invitational, which again featured the majority of the state’s top teams. Vargo scored a 36.950 to edge 2017 Division 1 Finals champion Cate Gagnier of Grosse Pointe United by two tenths of a point, earning the MHSAA “Performance of the Week.”
Vargo had reached the club gymnastics Level 9 and was on a track to compete collegiately, but decided before her junior year to instead focus on academics as part of the Farmington district’s International Baccalaureate program. A student then at Farmington Hills Harrison before it closed last spring, she joined a Farmington United team featuring five seniors and helped it repeat as MHSAA team champion before then winning the Division 1 title the following day. Now a student at Farmington High, she has finished first in every all-around competition during her two seasons at the high school level. At Canton, she just missed a perfect score on vault with a 9.9 and also was first on floor exercise (9.6), seventh on uneven parallel bars (8.875) and 17th on balance beam (8.575). Farmington United is a much younger team this winter with a number of freshman contributors, but posted a team score of 143.675 to outpace runner-up Rockford’s 142.559 and third-place Livonia Blue’s 140.25.
Although Vargo switched to high school gymnastics to free up more time for her studies, there’s no arguing she doesn’t maintain a packed schedule. She carries a 4.0 grade-point average while taking the advanced curriculum and also plays violin in the school orchestra and with her mother Sandra, a middle school orchestra teacher in the district. Additionally, Elena has built a jewelry business where she sells her creations and is a two-time Miss Farmington pageant runner-up. She is considering studying at University of Michigan or Miami University of Ohio, and also is awaiting replies from a pair of Ivy League schools. She’ll base what she studies in part on where she attends college – she would like to major in something in the sciences and potentially pre-medical, with a minor in business.
Coach Jeff Dwyer said: “Elena came onto a very good team her junior year, but she is an elite gymnast that has pushed us to become one of the top teams in the state last year and this year. She is one of the better floor exercise and vault performers in the state. She averages in the 9.6-9.8 range on floor, where she combines powerful tumbling with beautiful dance skills. When her vault is on, it is difficult for anyone to beat her. She performs a laid-out Yurchenko vault which has the highest start value possible (10.0) as it is a very difficult and risky vault to perform. However, she does it almost perfectly – her score of 9.9 at the meet is evidence of that perfection. A slight foot movement on her landing cost her one tenth of a point. When a team has someone who can attain such high scores in high school, it is a big lift to the team score. We have a strong team on floor and vault, but Elena adds that extra punch that can lift us even higher, especially against other strong teams.”
Performance Point: “I actually had a gymnastics career-high of 9.9 on vault,” Vargo said while recalling her Canton performance. “So that was the highlight of the meet for me, getting a 9.90, and if I stuck the landing I’d get a 10.0. So that’s my goal, one of these next meets, to get a 10.0 on vault. Floor-wise, I was happy with my performance. The other two events, I let myself get too much in my head and I wasn’t really focused on the uneven bars or the balance beam as much as I normally am. But what really helps me with those events to barely get by with them is my teammates. With any athletics or sports, your teammates are really the ones to put the foundation to motivate you … (and) my team really helped motivate me with that. … Our team was great. I was so happy we were able to beat the other 17 teams that were there. We see Rockford and Livonia Blue as our competition, and this meet really just was such a determining factor in how we may perform at states against them. Rockford won the Rockford Invite a week or two before the Canton Invite … so it really comes down to the best of the best. It comes down to your team always motivating you, your ability to stay focused in performance. Not just one person on our team is going to win it for us. We all have to work together. We definitely have been working on that, and it definitely showed up at the Canton meet.”
Showing the way: “I believe that I’ve always been a leader for our gymnastics team. I do do a higher level of skills. (But) the girls always ask me for advice on how to do specific skills, and I’m always there to help them and give them drills and different ideas. Even though I’m more on quiet side while I’m training and more focused on myself, I’m always there to motivate them and give them advice, and they do the same towards me. I want my entire team to perform just as well as I do.”
Always a Hawk, now a Falcon too: “Yes, I really do miss Harrison. Harrison was our home and we had a connection not just with the building but all of the people there. Coming to Farmington, originally there was a disconnect between Harrison and Farmington students and teachers. But I think because it’s been a few months, we’re all OK now. People-wise we’re fine, it’s just the building that’s changed. … It was pretty tough at the beginning, but it’s good now.”
Gymnastics is part of me: “I’m a gymnast at heart. Ever since I was 3, I’ve done gymnastics. It’s a part of my identity. I literally don’t know what I would do if gymnastics was not in my life. Practice is the place I can go to (and) forget about everything else and (for example) focus on my flips. I just have such a strong passion for going out on the floor and showing off what I’m able to do. It fills me so much with energy. I look forward to my practices and having fun with my teammates. It’s been a part of me for so long, it’s created who I am today. And I know when I’m older, I hopefully want to be a coach. Because gymnastics, the knowledge, the skills behind it, there’s so many different elements that have captured my heart.”
EV the entrepreneur: “My jewelry business is called ‘Designs By E.V.’ I specialize in custom jewelry and essential oil diffuser jewelry. So I make rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and I go to a bunch of different art fairs and jewelry shows year-round, and I set up my booth and I sell my products. … I make jewelry, basically to, kinda like gymnastics, (it’s) how I can escape from reality. I’m able to express my more creative side, and it actually helps me relax more.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Past honorees
Jan. 31: Michael Wolsek, Trenton swimming - Report
Jan. 24: Kensington Holland, Utica Ford bowling - Report
Jan. 17: Claycee West, White Pigeon basketball - Report
Jan. 10: Seth Lause, Livonia Stevenson hockey - Report
Dec. 5: Mareyohn Hrabowski, River Rouge football - Report
Nov. 28: Kathryn Ackerman, Grand Haven swimming - Report
Nov. 21: Emily Van Dyke, Southfield Christian volleyball - Report
Nov. 14: Taylor Wegener, Ida volleyball - Report
Nov. 7: Carter Solomon, Plymouth cross country - Report
Oct. 31: Jameson Goorman, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian soccer - Report
Oct. 24: Austin Plotkin, Brimley cross country - Report
Oct. 17: Jack Spamer, Brighton cross country - Report
Oct. 10: Kaylee Maat, Hudsonville volleyball - Report
Oct. 3: Emily Paupore, Negaunee cross country - Report
Sept. 26: Josh Mason, South Lyon soccer - Report
Sept. 19: Ariel Chang, Utica Eisenhower golf - Report
Sept. 12: Jordyn Shipps, DeWitt swimming - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Farmington United's Elena Vargo competes on floor exercise during last Saturday's Canton Invitational. (Middle) Vargo won that event with a 9.6 and also vault and all-around. (Photos by Roger Playle.)