High 5s - 3/6/12
March 6, 2012
Every Tuesday, Second Half honors 2-4 athletes and a team for its accomplishments during the current season.
Have a suggestion for a future High 5? Please offer suggestions by e-mail to [email protected]. Candidates often will have accomplished great things on the field of play -- but also will be recognized for other less obvious contributions to their teams, schools or the mission of high school athletics as a whole.
Nathalie Kenny
Manistee senior
Skiing
Kenny finished her high school skiing career with her sixth and seventh top-10 MHSAA Finals finishes, including her second straight Division 2 championship in giant slalom in a two-run time of 59.79 seconds. She also finished runner-up in the slalom (1:13.31), her third runner-up finish over the last four seasons. Her Manistee/Traverse City St. Francis team finishined fourth, but won the meet when she was a freshman. Kenny also swam in the fall, and plays center midfielder for the soccer team.
Up next: Kenny hopes to earn her bachelor's and master's degrees and eventually a doctorate as well, and has applied to St. Olaf's (Minn.), Dartmouth, Harvard and Middlebury (Vt.), as well as to the U.S. Air Force Academy. She'd like to continue skiing competitively, but at what level -- NCAA, intramural or not at all -- will depend on where she attends college. She's planning on a career in science. "I am interested in a plethora of concentrations including, but not limited to, biology, environmental science, law and medicine."
Some day, I will be: "When I was younger I would have answered: the President. But now, I find myself leaning towards a lawyer, researcher, scientist, physician or world traveler. However, I will still just be me; my job won't define who I am."
I learned the most about skiing from: "Dan Janowiak. I have worked with Dan for about six or seven years now, and I don't know many others with the ski racing knowledge that he has. From technique to tactics, visualization to preparation, Dan has stuffed my brain. Without him, I would not be the skier I am today."
I look up to: "My coach's daughter, Lyndee Janowiak, has always been a role model for me in skiing. She has natural talent, and I admire her hard work and passion for the sport. She is very fast and has had a successful career that recently came to an end when she graduated college. When she isn't busy racing herself, she is always giving tips and helping me improve. She believes in me and has helped me become a better skier. That is something that I will always be grateful for."
I love skiing because: "... I love the speed, and the adrenaline rush that pumps through my body when I fly down the hill. I love the feeling of carving my edges into the snow and making angles so big that I feel as if my butt will touch the ground. And I love the challenge that it presents. Between the speed, gravitational forces, use of energy, and complexity of a seemingly simple turn, skiing is one of the most difficult and technical sports there is. The list never ends, and neither does my hunger to improve."
Paige Arrington
Gibraltar Carlson senior
Competitive Cheer
Arrington, a four-year member of the squad, helped the Marauders to their third MHSAA Division 2 championship of her high school career. Carlson posted the meet's highest scores in both Round 1 and Round 2, and then tied for the high score in Round 3 to finish with a total of 807.3944 points, 2.9 ahead of runner-up Dearborn Divine Child.
"It's absolutely mind-blowing. I'm so happy to leave my senior year with three state championships and two of them being back-to-back. It is absolutely an amazing feeling, and I wouldn't trade it for the world."
Up next: Arrington will attend Oakland University and study nursing. She also expects to join the Oakland cheer team.
I learned the most about cheer from: Shumate Middle School coach Marissa Mousouleas.
I look up to: "All my coaches. Danielle (Jokela), Christy (Wilson), everybody. They just do so much for us and help us so much. It's hard to pick one."
I'm motivated by: "Winning. I just love to win, so (I) work hard to do it."
My career highlight was: "Probably winning states my freshman year. Sending out our seniors with their back-to-back championships. I felt good because I helped do that. And then this year, my freshmen helped send me out with back-to-back state championships, and that's amazing."
To those who say cheer isn't a sport: "First off, I would laugh. And then I would say ... we even had one practice that was 10 hours long to everything perfect. We've been with each other six days a week since November. We put everything into this sport and we flip around, jump around, hit things tight. And it has to be perfect. It's a sport."
Jordan Thomas
Greenville wrestling
Senior
Thomas, who will wrestle next season at the University of Michigan, won his third-straight MHSAA championship Saturday, in Division 2 and 189 pounds. Thomas defeated reigning champion Gabe Dean of Lowell 5-1, giving him two wins over Dean this winter and a final record of 45-0 -- and 217-3 for his high school career. Thomas and St. Johns senior Taylor Massa led the opening wrestlers march onto The Palace of Auburn Hills floor. Massa is the only wrestler who has stopped Thomas in an MHSAA Final -- he beat Thomas 5-2 in the 145-pound Final when both were freshmen.
"I knew (Dean) was thinking overtime. I thought I had one more good shot in me. With 12 seconds (left), I go after it. I got a good shot off, strong finish. It felt good."
Up next: Thomas hopes to redshirt his first season at Michigan plans to study business. "I love math."
I learned the most about wrestling from: Thomas thanked Tom, Doug and Ben Bennett, Rodger and Taylor Massa, and his Greenville coaches.
I look up to: Ever since I was little, people asked me do you look up to Cael Sanderson, do you look up to Brent Metcalf? I think those guys are great. But I try not to look up to anybody. ... I want to make my own path, do something nobody else has done. Obviously, I can't have an undefeated career. Cael already had that undefeated college career. I want to do something else for the first time. It doesn't matter who you look up to. There's a lot of people I think are great. I just pick up little things from everybody."
Richmond Competitive Cheer
The Blue Devils improved from third place at the Division 3 Final in both 2009 and 2010, to second last season and finally finished first Saturday at the Grand Rapids Delta Plex.
Richmond won all of its events this winter, and scored the meet high in each round on the way to its first MHSAA championship.
D3 Preview: New Contenders Rising
March 6, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half
Richmond and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep have dominated Division 3 competitive cheer for most of the last decade, combining to win the last eight championships and finish runner-up seven times over the last nine seasons.
That may or may not come to an end this weekend at Grand Rapids’ Delta Plex – but there are some strong candidates making it look possible.
Below are glances at all eight teams competing for this year’s title. Round 1 begins at 6 p.m. Saturday, and the event in its entirety will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a subscription basis. Click here for the Finals rotation schedule and other important information.
BERRIEN SPRINGS
League finish: First in Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference
Coach: Laurie White, 11th season
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 754.06.
Team composition: 17 total (five seniors, four juniors, four sophomores, four freshmen)
Outlook: White has built a second Finals-qualifying cheer program, with Berrien Springs on the way to its first appearance after she also started Manistique’s program and led it to multiple MHSAA championship meets. The Shamrocks qualified for the Regionals for the first time just four years ago, but finished third last weekend to book its first trip to the Delta Plex. Berrien Springs also won all eight of its regular-season competitions this winter. Senior Elizabeth Haygood earned all-Regional honorable mention last season.
COMSTOCK PARK
League finish: First in O-K Blue
Coach: Hayley Strickland, second season
Championship history: Division 3 champions 2011 and 2009, three runner-up finishes.
Top score: 759.65 at the District.
Team composition: 20 total (three seniors, six juniors, five sophomores, six freshmen)
Outlook: Comstock Park improved from eighth in 2018 to sixth last season, and its highest total score this winter is 20 points higher than its best from a season ago. The Panthers have won eight competitions and finished second at their Regional. Junior Niyah Gill made the all-state second team last season, and senior Elizabeth Howard earned an honorable mention.
CROSWELL-LEXINGTON
League finish: Second in Blue Water Area Conference
Co-coaches: Katie Tomlinson, fifth season
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 779.32.
Team composition: 22 total (eight seniors, three juniors, four sophomores, seven freshmen)
Outlook: Croswell-Lexington also will be making its first trip to the Finals, having finished third at its Regional after missing the cut by two spots last year. The Pioneers placed at least third at all of their competitions this winter and second or first at 10 of 12 – especially impressive with reigning Division 3 champion Richmond topping the BWAC, District and Regional, and Croswell-Lexington also finishing ahead of Notre Dame Prep at the District. Seniors Avery Falter and Ashley Robertson both earned all-Regional recognition last season.
ESCANABA
League finish: Does not compete in a league
Coach: Samantha Griebel, first season
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 742.10.
Team composition: 22 total (three seniors, nine juniors, five sophomores, five freshmen)
Outlook: Escanaba is back at the Finals after finishing a Regional place short of qualifying a year ago, this time led by first-year head coach Griebel after she formerly led the middle school program. The Eskymos may be strongest in Round 3, where their top score this season (315.6) ranks seventh in Division 3. Sophomore Alivia Royer earned all-Regional recognition in 2019.
ONSTED
League finish: Second in Lenawee County Athletic Association
Coach: Michelle Goetz, fourth season
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1994.
Top score: 769.70.
Team composition: 26 total (five seniors, six juniors, 10 sophomores, five freshmen)
Outlook: Goetz, who helped Onsted to a Regional title as an athlete in 2006, has the team back at the Finals for the first time since 2015. The Wildcats placed first or second at their first nine competitions and second in the league only to Division 4 powerhouse Hudson. Saturday could see a big finish, as Onsted’s best scores in Round 1 (233.0), Round 2 (226.9) and total all rank fifth in Division 3. Senior Claire Williams earned all-Regional recognition last season.
PAW PAW
League finish: First in Wolverine Conference
Coach: Stefanie Miller, 11th season
Championship history: Seeking first MHSAA Finals top-two finish.
Top score: 787.48 at the District.
Team composition: 23 total (six seniors, three juniors, nine sophomores, five freshmen)
Outlook: Paw Paw returned to the Finals last season with a fifth-place finish and will be pushing for more Saturday with the top Round 3 (321.3), second-highest Round 1 (235.8) and third-highest Round 2 (230.4) scores in Division 3 this season. Paw Paw also has won 12 of its 13 competitions, including the District and Regional, led by an experienced group. Junior Mackenzie Miller made the all-state first team last season, while senior Joscelin Stewart and sophomore Paige Miller made the second and sophomores Rylee Goldberg and Alexis Sunlin earned honorable mentions.
PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP
League finish: Does not participate in a league.
Coach: Beth Campbell, eighth season
Championship history: Division 3 champions 2014-18, runner-up 2013 and 2019.
Top score: 776.80 at the Regional.
Team composition: 21 total (four seniors, four juniors, six sophomores, seven freshmen)
Outlook: The Fighting Irish saw their championship streak end at five last season, as they finished second. But they’ll no doubt be in the mix again Saturday, as once again their best scores rank with the best in Division 3 this winter. Their best scores in every round and overall rank among the top four, with their top Round 1 (234.4) ranking third in the division. Notre Dame Prep came back to finish second only to Richmond at their Regional after coming in third at the District. Senior Megan Sollmer made the all-state first team last season, while seniors Ava Simony and Katherine Topoleski and sophomore Grace Byrne made the second and sophomore Riley Lumm earned honorable mention.
RICHMOND
League finish: First in Blue Water Area Conference
Coach: Kelli Matthes, 12th season
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2019, 2013 and 2012, runner-up five times.
Top score: 787.82 at the Regional.
Team composition: 28 total (10 seniors, two juniors, eight sophomores, eight freshmen)
Outlook: After taking back the championship last season, its first since winning back-to-back in 2012 and 2013, Richmond has been nearly unstoppable winning 10 of its 11 competitions including District and Regional meets ahead of Notre Dame Prep. Richmond’s average total score this season of 769.8 is nine points better than the rest of Division 3, and its top Round 1 (238.2) and Round 2 (231.1) both set the pace as well. Seniors Madison Daniel, Jordan Valentine and Emily Mikolasik and sophomore Makenna Parker all made the all-state first team last season, while senior Nicole Logghe made the second and seniors Olivia Poelker and Julia Akerley earned honorable mention.
PHOTO: Paw Paw competes two weekends ago on the way to claiming a District championship. (Photo by 1001 Words Photography.)