Preview: Reigning Champs Set High Bar
March 7, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Farmington United could be on the verge of one of the most dominating Finals weekends in MHSAA gymnastics history.
The co-operative program with athletes from Farmington, North Farmington and Farmington Hills Harrison won its first team title last season since finishing a string of three straight in 2006, and enters Friday’s team competition at Rockford High School having won all of its meets this winter.
Saturday’s individual competitions provide similar opportunities. Farmington United gymnasts Elena Vargo and Kacey Noseworthy won Division 1 and 2 Regional titles, respectively, last week.
But there are plenty of challengers – like Rockford/Sparta, which won three straight team titles before finishing second a year ago. Rams senior Reagan Ammon posted the highest Division 2 Regional score of last weekend and will make a run at that title, while Grosse Pointe United sophomore Cate Gagnier is the reigning Division 1 all-around champion and knows the competition after finishing second to Vargo at their Regional meet.
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.
Below is a glance at a number of contenders, both team and individual, who could work into the mix this weekend. Click for rotation schedules for both days of competition.
Team Contenders
Farmington United – The reigning champion is undefeated this season and won its Regional at White Lake Lakeland by 8.4 points with a 148.450 – also the highest Regional score regardless of site by more than three points. Comparatively, Farmington won last year’s Finals championship by two tenths of a point scoring 144.750. Four of seven scorers at last season’s Finals are back, with wins at the annual Jeanne Carruss Invitational at Lakeland by 2.5 points, the Rockford Flip-Flip Invitational by just under three points and at the Canton Invitational by more than three. Junior Elena Vargo is a Division 1 individual favorite, and Farmington also qualified five Division 2 all-around competitors for Saturday.
Fowlerville – This co-operative program, which also includes gymnasts from Byron, Pinckney and Perry, won its first Regional title last week to advance to the Finals as a team for the first time. The Gladiators’ 143.075 was the fourth-highest Regional score across the state, an exciting jump from sixth place and 138.025 a year ago. Fowlerville has three Division 2 qualifiers and one in Division 1 competing all-around Saturday.
Livonia Blue – Blue improved from 10th at the 2017 Final to fourth last season and won its Regional last week with a 143.450 – the third-highest Regional score statewide. Blue was undefeated in dual meets this winter and finished second to Farmington at the Carruss Invitational and third at the Canton Invitational. The team has two qualifiers in Division 1 all-around and one in Division 2 competing Saturday.
Rockford/Sparta – The Rams won three straight team championships from 2015-17 and could provide the biggest challenge again to Farmington after finishing third at last season’s Final, only three tenths of a point off the lead. Rockford/Sparta won the Lowell Invitational and Kenowa Hills Invitational and took second to Farmington at both its Flip-Flop Invitational and the Canton Invitational. The Rams won their Regional by more than five points with the state’s second highest score of the weekend, 145.325. Five gymnasts will compete all-around in Division 2 on Saturday.
Division 1
Ariana Adams, Hartland junior – Adams finished second at the Regional at Grand Ledge with a 35.375 all-around and second places on bars (8.8) and beam (8.85). She tied for 14th on bars at the 2018 Division 1 Finals.
Hannah Biesbrock, Grand Rapids Forest Hills junior – Biesbrock repeated as all-around champion at the Regional at Kenowa Hills with a score of 35.575 and first places on bars (8.925) and floor (9.200). She finished eighth all-around at the 2018 Division 1 Finals.
Aniessa Conway, Livonia Blue senior – Conway will compete at her third Division 1 Finals and finished third all-around a year ago while taking first on bars. She finished fifth among a strong group at her Regional at Plymouth last weekend with a score of 35.025, again winning bars (9.150) and also floor (9.400).
Isabella Dyer, Fraser sophomore – After qualifying for the Finals in two events last season, Dyer will compete in the all-around after following up championship contenders Elena Vargo and Cate Gagnier at the White Lake Lakeland Regional with a 36.650. She tied for ninth on vault at last year’s Finals.
Makenna Fedrigo, Livonia Blue sophomore – Fedrigo finished 14th in the Division 1 all-around at last year’s Finals as a freshman, with a third place on bars. She will return as a Regional champion, coming in first at Plymouth with a 36.150.
Cate Gagnier, Grosse Pointe United sophomore – Gagnier closed the first year of her high school career as the Division 1 individual champion, winning vault and beam on the way to an all-around 37.225. She finished second at the Plymouth Regional last week to Vargo, scoring a 37.275 while winning beam (9.625).
Jessica Huddleston, Livonia Red junior – The all-around runner-up at the Plymouth Regional scored a 35.975 to miss the championship by just 0.175 points. She took second on bars and third on beam.
Maddie Girard, Jackson senior – A Division 2 Finals qualifier on beam last season, Girard moved up to Division 1 and finished second all-around at the Kenowa Hills Regional with a 35.075. She won beam (9.125) and was second on bars.
Lizzie Maurer, Grand Ledge sophomore – She improved from fourth at last year’s Regional at her school to first last week, scoring a 37.125 with first places on floor (9.475), beam (9.425) and bars (9.075). She finished fifth all-around at the 2018 Division 1 Finals.
Katelyn O’Brien, Northville sophomore – O’Brien placed third all-around at the Plymouth Regional with a 35.925. She finished second on vault and fifth on beam and floor.
Ashlyn Shudick, Hartland junior – Shudick finished third all-around at Grand Ledge with a 35.225, less than two tenths of a point behind runner-up teammate Adams. Shudick took second on floor, tied for fourth on vault and tied for fifth on beam.
Maisie Swafford, Plymouth sophomore – After finishing 13th all-around at last season’s Finals as a freshman, Swafford will take a run at the top 10 after finishing fourth at the Plymouth Regional with a 35.375. She won the beam with a 9.625.
Elena Vargo, Farmington United junior – At the bottom of this group by alphabetical order, Vargo very well could finish at the top Saturday afternoon. She won the Lakeland Regional with a 38.200 all-around including first places on floor (9.775), bars (9.475) and vault (9.675).
Division 2
Reagan Ammon, Rockford senior – Ammon finished first among five teammates and all Division 2 gymnasts at the Regional at Kenowa Hills with an all-around 37.050 including first places on beam (9.275) and bars (9.100). She finished fifth all-around at the 2018 Division 2 Finals.
Morgan Case, Rockford junior – Case finished all-around runner-up at last year’s Division 2 Finals, scoring 36.825 and missing the title by a quarter of a point – although she did take first place on floor. She finished third all-around last week, scoring 35.600 while taking firsts on floor (9.550) and vault (9.400).
Ava Farquhar, Farmington United senior – After placing seventh all-around at last season’s Division 2 Finals, Farquhar will aim for one more strong finish after coming in fourth all-around at the Lakeland Regional with a 35.600. She tied for first at the Regional on beam (9.450).
Ashley Faulkner, Rockford junior – Faulkner improved from tied for 10th two years ago to sixth all-around at last season’s Division 2 Finals, and the climb could continue after she finished second at last week’s Regional only to Ammon. Faulkner scored 36.000, finishing second on bars and beam, and also is the reigning Division 2 Finals champ on bars.
Nicole Graham, Huron Valley sophomore – Graham was the only non-Farmington gymnast to qualify all-around from the Division 2 Regional at Plymouth, scoring a 36.175 to finish second while tying for first on beam (9.450). She finished 17th all-around at last season’s Division 2 Finals.
Lauren Hayden, Linden sophomore – Last year’s 19th-place all-around finisher at the Division 2 Finals could make a big jump after winning the all-around at the Grand Ledge Regional with a 35.675. She also won the beam (9.300) last week.
Isabelle Litz, Fowlerville junior – Litz competed on bars and vault at the 2018 Division 2 Finals, but will return as an all-around competitor. She finished second at the Grand Ledge Regional with a 35.600, just 75 hundredths of a point off the lead.
Sarah Litz, Fowlerville freshman – At her first Regional, Litz came in fourth all-around with a 35.500 and top-seven places on beam and floor.
Chantal Lokers, Rockford senior – Lokers has finished ninth and eighth, respectively, in the Division 2 all-around at the last two Finals. She came in fourth among teammates and overall at their Regional last week with a 35.505.
Kacey Noseworthy, Farmington United senior – Noseworthy tied for third all-around in Division 2 last season and is among favorites again coming off the Regional title at Lakeland. She scored 36.850 to win by more than six tenths of a point, taking first on floor (9.625) and bars (tied – 9.000).
Ella Seale, Plymouth sophomore – Seale finished 18th all-around at last year’s Division 2 Finals with two top-eight event places, and she was the only Division 2 gymnast to break 35 at the Plymouth Regional. She won with a 35.725 while taking first on beam (9.725).
Sydney Schultz, Farmington United sophomore – A freshman contributor to last year’s team title, Schultz also finished 12th in the Division 2 all-around and could move up as well this weekend. She finished third at the Lakeland Regional with a 35.975, taking first place in the vault (9.550).
Apryl Smith, Linden sophomore – After competing at last season’s Finals on just beam, Smith also will return this time in the all-around. She finished third at her Regional with a 35.525
PHOTO: A Rockford gymnast competes on the uneven parallel bars during a meet Feb. 11. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Performance: GP United's Isabelle Nguyen
February 27, 2017
Isabelle Nguyen
Grosse Pointe North senior – Gymnastics
After taking fifth, second and second, respectively, in the MHSAA Finals Division 1 competition her first three years of competition, Grosse Pointe United’s Nguyen faced high expectations heading into her final season of high school gymnastics – and has met them all. Nguyen scored an all-around 37.975 to win Division 1 at the Great Lakes League Championships on Feb. 18 and earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week” for Feb. 13-19, and she’s won all of her invitationals this season, including the prestigious Canton event that yearly draws the top competition from all over the state.
Nguyen won on all four apparatuses at the league meet, and also posted a 37.150 all-around Wednesday against Canton. She holds every record for Grosse Pointe United, and next will lead her team into the Regional on Saturday at Walled Lake Central. Like many gymnasts, Nguyen also dives – she qualified for the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals in the fall and just missed making the final round of competition. She also will return for her third season of lacrosse this spring after sitting out last season with an injury.
Injuries also will keep Nguyen from pursuing college gymnastics, but she’s got other goals set. She will attend Wayne State University and study computer technology after cultivating an interest in coding during a technology class she took as a junior at North. She carries a 3.5 grade-point average and also is interested in coaching when her competing days are done – which likely will be in two weeks, and potentially after she celebrates a Division 1 all-around title.
Coach Kristin Remillet said: “Watching her success over the past four years has been such a fun experience for me as a coach. It’s great to see a deserving, hardworking young lady like Izzy get the recognition she deserves each and every meet. As an individual competitor, she is peaking this season, her senior year, and has won the all-around title in every single invitational she has competed in this season. … She’s a great all-around gymnast who is a standout competitor in every event. That’s really Izzy’s strength; she is so well-rounded across all four apparatuses, it makes her tough to beat in the all-around competition. … Every time Izzy competes for our team in a large-scale meet, I’m impressed with her focus and her ability to shine in times of pressure. Another of Izzy’s strengths that I’m very impressed with is her ability to lead others in our gym. She’s not just a phenomenal athlete, she is also a great teammate and friend. Whether you have been on the team with her for two years, or two weeks, she makes so many teammates feel comfortable, welcomed, and loves to help them improve as well.”
Performance Point: “Most of my (league) performance, I was pretty happy with; on beam, I haven’t been landing my skills lately, so I was pretty scared about that, but on bar I was pretty satisfied (because) I almost had a fall but I was able to save it,” Nguyen said. “Overall, I was really proud of myself. … I still want (to win MHSAA Finals). It still makes me want to work hard seeing how close other girls were to me. I’m still pushing myself in practice, getting ready for Regionals and states. I’ve just been trying to work on hitting everything.”
Taking flight: “My favorite (apparatus) is uneven bars. I feel like I’m just more free. I feel like I’m flying. When I first started learning it, just started giants, I started liking it all. It’s not something I’m scared of; on beam I’m more scared of doing stuff than on bars.”
Sport for every season: “It’s mostly keeping me in shape. Diving is the flipping; I just like flipping a lot. In lacrosse, I like to meet new people too who like other sports, and (I like) the running. I’m kinda a fan of running.”
More than tough enough: “Last year, the week of states, I hurt my knee. I have extra bones in my feet, and I just hurt my ankle. … I’d say (gymnasts) are pretty tough. A lot of people don’t think we’re strong. It’s because they think we’re small; they think we’re weak. It’s really not (true). I love gymnastics. I just wanted to keep doing it. I knew I had to take breaks and everything, but it’s something I really like.”
Call me Coach (next year): “Right now I coach little kids, just for fun, but my (high school) coach is planning to have me coach next year if I can. I like seeing new girls like the sport that I like, and it makes me happy helping everyone so they can get better.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 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 protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Grosse Pointe United's Isabelle Nguyen competes on uneven parallel bars this season. (Middle) Nguyen performs on balance beam at last season's MHSAA Finals. (Photos courtesy of Grosse Pointe United gymnastics.)