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.
Vargo, Ammon Fulfill Expectations Greatly
March 9, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
ROCKFORD – Farmington United junior Elena Vargo wasn’t sure what to expect from high school gymnastics when she decided to give it a try this season.
Rockford/Sparta senior Reagan Ammon never expected her high school career to end like this.
Both received pleasant outcomes at Saturday’s MHSAA Individual Finals at Rockford High School – Vargo’s not necessarily surprising, but Ammon’s so stunning it moved her to tears multiple times.
Vargo, after leading United to the team championship Friday and posting the state's highest Regional all-around score a weekend ago, capped her first season of high school gymnastics with the Division 1 individual all-around championship. Ammon, meanwhile, moved up from fifth in 2018 to close her high school career as the all-around champion in Division 2 as she was the last to be announced at the end of a busy weekend in her home gym.
“I did come from a competitive environment, so I knew I was going to come here and I knew I was going to be competitive. But I didn’t know what the other girls were going to be like,” Vargo said. “I just knew that no matter how good or how the other girls did, I wanted to beat myself each time. So my goal for each meet was to say, OK, I got a 9.6 on bars, let’s get a 9.65. I just kinda keep pushing myself, and through that I guess that made me get to the top.”
Vargo’s all-around score of 38.000 edged that of Northville sophomore and runner-up Katelyn O’Brien by 1.325 points. Vargo finished first on vault (9.800), uneven parallel bars (9.350) and floor exercise (9.600), the vault score tying for third-highest in Division 1 Finals history.
She made the switch to high school this winter after years gaining substantial club experience. Vargo, a student at Farmington Hills Harrison, also carries a 4.0 GPA and takes part in her district’s International Baccalaureate program, and going the high school gymnastics route allowed her to still compete in the sport and focus on an increased academic load.
Farmington United – made up of students from Harrison, Farmington High and North Farmington – had a number of individual competitors Saturday, and all of Vargo’s rotations were filled with teammates. They were difference makers when Vargo took to the vault late in the afternoon.
“Because we had an hour and a half of just sitting there, I was tired, I was sick, and I guess the adrenaline really got me going,” she said. “And my coaches and my teammates, they’re the main reason motivating me. As I was going down the vault, I could actually hear them motivate me, and I’m like, ‘OK, let’s stick this.’”
Similarly, Ammon was one of five Rockford/Sparta Division 2 all-around qualifiers and was able to compete in every rotation surrounded by Rams.
She had finished 13th all-around as a sophomore before moving up to fifth a year ago, and her victory Saturday included first places on bars (9.150) and beam (9.275).
It was after that final event that she and her teammates shared an emotional moment – but there was another to come as Ammon was stunned to hear her name called last to receive her championship medal.
“It was a good day. I just didn’t know that it was that good of a day,” Ammon said. “(I knew I’d won) when they announced second place. I seriously had no idea. I wasn’t paying attention to anyone else’s scores. I was just focusing on my own performances.
“After I finished my beam routine, I knew I had stuck all my events. I was so happy.”
O’Brien’s runner-up finish in Division 1 was especially impressive as she had finished third at her Regional just a week before. She posted top-six places on three apparatuses, with a high of second to Vargo on bars. Reigning Division 1 champion Cate Gagnier, a sophomore for Grosse Pointe United, finished third all-around at 36.525. Bloomfield Hills freshman Maeve Wright made her Finals debut by winning Division 1 balance beam with a score of 9.525.
Farmington senior Kacey Noseworthy won the floor exercise (9.400) on the way to her runner-up all-around finish in Division 2, while Ammon teammate junior Morgan Case took first in Division 2 on the vault (9.400). Huron Valley sophomore Nicole Graham finished third in the Division 2 all-around at 35.700.
PHOTOS: (Top) Farmington United’s Elena Vargo performs her floor routine during Saturday’s Division 1 Finals. (Middle) Rockford/Sparta’s Reagan Ammon also competes on floor on the way to winning Division 2. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)