Division 1 Cheer: Titanic Finish
March 2, 2012
GRAND RAPIDS – Moments before its final round Friday, Southgate Anderson launched into an “I believe that we will win” chant with its crew of fans at the Grand Rapids Delta Plex.
A year ago, the Titans came to the MHSAA Division 1 Final with similar confidence – and finished seventh of eight teams at the championship meet.
But this time, with lessons learned, Southgate Anderson backed it up. The Titans scored the meet’s top Round 2 and 3 scores and outlasted surging Hudsonville to win their first MHSAA cheer championship.
“Last year … it was a crushing blow. We couldn’t believe that happened, and we weren’t going to let it happen again,” Titans senior Bri Walsh said. “We worked too hard to let it go. We needed to push through.
“It was a mindset. I’ve never been on a team this dedicated.”
Southgate Anderson scored 816.6032 points Friday, besting its previous top score this season by less than a tenth of a point. Hudsonville, which like Anderson had never finished even among the top two at the Finals, came in second with 813.2976. Rochester Stoney Creek was third with a score of 811.3456.
The Titans’ pre-Round 3 chant carried additional significance because of strong performances the last two weeks. As the regular season came to a close, Southgate Anderson considered itself a strong Round 2 team. For a while before that, the Titans specialized in Round 1.
But just before Districts, Southgate Anderson made some switches in its final routine that paid off big. Also, coach Colette Norscia said the difference between this and past teams was the increased time it spent conditioning. And Walsh agreed that was a difference-maker in the Titans’ being able to land more difficult skills this winter.
Although 16 of Southgate Anderson’s 28 cheerleaders were on the team last year, most of Friday’s competitors watched from the sideline in 2011.
“They were hungry for it last year,” Norscia said. They had an opportunity to see on the sideline what needed to be done, and they took that into the gym this year.”
She admitted that unlike usual, she didn’t look at the scoreboard heading into her team’s Round 3, and had no idea where her team stood. Hudsonville performed its Round 3 later in the final rotation, and Eagles coach Amanda Cooper did look at the scores and knew her team needed to be just about perfect to move into first place.
Hudsonville was nearly flawless and finished nine tenths behind the Titans in that round with a score of 324.600. But the Eagles’ final score was its best this season by nearly three points, and the runner-up finish bested their best previous Finals placing of third in 2010. Hudsonville finished eighth last season.
“We had our best three rounds on the same day here at states, and I can’t ask for anything more,” Cooper said. “We had an amazing week of practice and an amazing warm-up, so I was just excited for them to go out there and nail (Round 3). That’s what we said – just have a clean, fun, solid round.
“Runner-up is awesome. We couldn’t be any happier.”
Click for full results from the Division 1 Final, and check back Saturday night for results from Divisions 2, 3 and 4.
NorthPointe Making Good on Potential with Chance to Keep Promise Up Next
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
February 20, 2025
GRAND RAPIDS – Ashlyn Bey felt uneasiness as she entered Montabella High School for last Saturday’s Division 4 Competitive Cheer District.
It was a return to the spot that abruptly ended her season a year ago.
“I definitely thought about it as we were driving there,” the Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian junior said. “I was thinking that this is when my season stopped last year, and just being at the same school didn’t help.
“I psyched myself out a lot when I went back there, but honestly it was a lot better than I thought it would be.”
Bey suffered a broken left hand in last year’s District while performing a tumble during the team’s Round 3 routine.
“It was interesting that it was at the same place,” NorthPointe Christian coach Sue Smith said. “She had to walk past the athletic trainers’ door when we were going on the mat, where she was in so much pain. She said that it was hard to go in and remember all of that, but she did great. It didn’t faze her on the mat, and she did fantastic.”
Bey’s injury required two surgeries and kept her off the mat for nine months.
“It was definitely pretty tough because I spend a lot of time on (competitive cheer), and I was upset that I couldn’t work on it and get better,” Bey said. “But I also think it was good for me to step away a little bit.”
Bey, the team’s top flyer, has helped the Mustangs emerge as one of the top contenders in Division 4 this season. NorthPointe is seeking a Finals berth this weekend.
“It was really exciting to come back because I could start new, but it was also a little irritating because I was back to square one,” Bey said. “It’s been going pretty good, and I feel like I’m where I was before and doing even better.”
Smith also has been thrilled to have one of her team leaders back in the fold.
“She didn’t get cleared until right before the season, and she's really gone through a lot with the two operations,” Smith said. “She’s phenomenal, and one of the best athletes I've ever worked with.”
Both Bey and her team have motivation for a triumphant comeback story.
The Mustangs have fallen short at Regionals the past three years. They made three consecutive appearances in the Final from 2019-21, placing sixth during their most recent trip.
They missed out on advancing last season by eight hundredths of a point, placing fifth at the Regional, while also finishing two points shy of the top four in 2023.
Smith said the team made a commitment to fulfilling a promise after last year’s disappointing outcome.
“They were on the mat afterwards and they were all crying, but they all said that they were going to work really hard and they were going to get it next year,” Smith said. “Instead of being upset, they were motivated, and I thought that was awesome. And this team has done amazing things.”
The near-misses from the past two seasons have fueled the Mustangs’ desire, and success has followed with the return of several key returners.
They finished second to Division 2 Fruitport in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver and finished runner-up at their District. They’ve also broken several school records.
“I feel like this team is doing so well and I feel like we are going to do great at Regionals,” Bey said. “We had a lot of motivation from last year, and we’ve been so close so many times that I feel like this is the year. I think we are going to make it to state.”
NorthPointe Christian’s small roster of 10 athletes will need to finish among the top four Saturday at West Catholic High School in order to advance to the Division 4 Final.
“We’re really hoping to make it this year with basically the same girls from last year and I think this team can do it, but there is really good competition out there,” Smith said. “We are working hard this week and our goal is the top four and making it to state. We would love to win, but that would be a bonus. I think they can do it.”
The last few years has been a rebuilding process for Smith, whose numbers dwindled in 2021 due to COVID-19 even though the Mustangs still qualified for the Final that season.
It’s been a steady climb back as improvements have been made across all three rounds in an attempt to raise scores.
“We’re pretty solid in every round, but my favorite is Round 3,” Smith said. “We’ve developed their tumbling over the years, and it's one of our biggest strengths. It’s an exciting, fast-paced round with something always going on, and I love it.
“The girls told me that Round 2 was their favorite, and we’ve made it more of an actual routine with every single skill having a new formation. We’ve had our best scores in Round 2, consistently over 200, and it’s been exciting for them.”
The Mustangs’ roster also includes Lindsay Ulstad, Riley Paulk, Addie Bey, Bella Barnett, Marlo Harrall, Emily Vander Woude, Evie Bast, Genesis Bradenburg and Issabell Barr.
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian competes this season at Grand Rapids Northview. (Photos courtesy of the NorthPointe competitive cheer program.)