Notre Dame Prep Repeats D3 Dominance
March 7, 2015
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – As the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep competitive cheer team exited the mat after their final round, several of the girls raised two fingers up and pointed toward their cheering section.
The Fighting Irish refused to be coined one-hit wonders.
A year after capturing the program’s first MHSAA title, Notre Dame Prep repeated in Saturday’s Division 3 Competitive Cheer Final at The DeltaPlex.
“Our theme this year was ‘more than one’,” Fighting Irish coach Beth Campbell said. “It’s been a steady climb for us the last few years and we’re so proud of our kids.”
Notre Dame Prep led from start to finish, cementing back-to-back championships with the Final’s high scores in all three rounds and a 773.68 total.
The Fighting Irish held off a challenge from Richmond, which tallied a score of 767.70 and placed among the top two for the fourth time in five years.
Armada (761.90) was third, while perennial contender Comstock Park (759) suffered a fall in Round 3 and slipped to fourth.
“We knew Richmond and Comstock Park wanted to win and bring it back to their schools, but we knew we had the talent and we stayed focused on us,” said Campbell, whose team went undefeated throughout the season in Division 3.
“Anytime you are the defending state champions there’s a target on your back, and the year before we were underdogs. I feel like defending a state championship was 25 times harder. Keeping it was a real challenge, but I think my girls decided a long time ago that they were going to defend it.”
It’s believed that the Fighting Irish achieved a school milestone as well with their second straight title.
“I’m pretty sure we’re the first sport in school history to win state titles back-to-back, so that’s an honor right there,” senior Alysa Gonzalez said. “And we also have 16 team tucks in Round 3 and only one other school has that and they are not in our division. It’s just remarkable.”
Senior Olivia Riley never imagined ending her competitive cheer career with a pair of MHSAA Finals crowns.
“I never dreamed coming into high school that I would be winning two state championships, but here I am,” she said. “There was definitely a lot of pressure on us, but we worked hard all year and we knew it would work out in the end.”
Notre Dame Prep was fueled all season by an inner drive to succeed, but also stayed focused on the task at hand.
“This team has been consistent all year long,” Campbell said. “We don’t always have our perfect rounds, but we deliver in every single round. We stayed the course, and it was closer than we would’ve liked, but our team was so focused on what their goal was. They kept taking it one round at a time and didn’t get ahead of themselves.”
The Fighting Irish scored 233.50 in Round 1 to gain the early momentum. They carried it over into the final two rounds with scores of 226.48 and 313.70, respectively.
“We know every year if you win Round 1, you win a state championship, and so we knew we had to get our lead in Round 1,” Riley said.
Richmond was within two points of Notre Dame Prep in each round, but was unable to gain any ground.
Still, Blue Devils coach Kelli Matthes was thrilled with the effort by her team.
“We’re happy,” she said. “We wanted to come in today and have our best three rounds of the year. The kids have worked hard to clean up all the bits and pieces the last two weeks in Districts and Regionals.
“Are some of the kids disappointed? Well sure, everybody wants to win, but they’re going home with a trophy and a medal around their neck.”
Richmond finished outside of the top two a year ago with an inexperienced team, and this year’s squad also was youthful with only three seniors.
Its roster consisted of 12 sophomores and seven freshmen.
“Last year our team was extremely young and new, and this year we still had 19 of our 24 kids who were underclassmen,” Matthes said. “Our senior leadership has been fabulous, and our goal all year was to keep on plugging and that’s what we did.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Notre Dame Prep finishes a routine en route to repeating as Division 3 champion. (Middle) Runner-up Richmond competes Saturday at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex.
Stoney Creek Finishes Climb with Sweep
March 1, 2019
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Back in January, it didn’t look like this would be the breakthrough year for Rochester Hills Stoney Creek competitive cheer.
But the Cougars hit their stride at just the right time, overcoming a second-place conference finish by winning MHSAA District and Regional titles, then capping off their dream run with a Division 1 Finals championship Friday at the Delta Plex.
“I have a lot of different emotions right now, but the best one is knowing that our hard work over the past nine months has paid off,” said Stoney Creek senior Mandy Lilla after the emotional win in front of more than 3,000 spectators.
Stoney Creek posted the highest score from the eight-team field in all three rounds, adding up to an impressive total of 792.72 and edging neighbor and Oakland Activities Association Red rival Rochester Adams (788.90). Grandville placed third at 787.18.
The title was the second for Stoney Creek, which also won Division 1 in 2010.
The Cougars have had a solid program ever since, with a fourth-place finish last winter, but were never able to get back to the top spot until Friday night.
Tricia Williams, in her 17th season as Stoney Creek’s coach, said the maturity of this year’s team enabled the Cougars to continually improve.
“I could see this team growing week after week,” said Williams, who is assisted by Angela Gaabo. “We had a wonderful group of seniors and captains. January was not our month, but those seniors made sure that everyone stayed positive and kept tightening things up.”
The Cougars showed they were ready for business at the District with a 793.78 score, the best District total in the state. They followed that up with a Regional win and then took control of the Finals starting in Round 1.
Leading by almost four points heading into Round 3, Stoney Creek delivered a near-flawless final round performance under pressure, excelling in coordination, vocals and floor mobility, while adding many skill points with a series of stunts and lifts. In the process, the Cougars denied Grandville and Rochester Adams, the final two teams to compete in Round 3, the chance for a comeback.
It marked the second straight year that Rochester Adams took second, after coming up just short last year to Sterling Heights Stevenson. In fact, the Highlanders finished first or second in every competition this season.
“We had an amazing season,” said Brooke Miller, in her fifth year as Adams’ coach. “Everyone is so good in our conference that it just makes us all better. We overcame a lot of things today, including an injury in Round 1, so I’m very proud of our finish.”
Stoney Creek and Adams, competitive rivals all year, shared a special moment on the mat after the trophy and medals presentations – with hugs and congratulations all around.
“So many of those girls are friends and they all work so hard, so that was great to see,” Miller said.
Williams had a brief moment alone with the championship trophy, before getting swarmed by her blue-and-gold clad team.
The Division 1 title was especially sweet for the Cougars’ seven seniors – Claire Heritage, Renee Kehren, Lilla, Sophia Lipuma, Lauren Orlando, Elizabeth Vacante and Olivia Zajac.
“It feels incredible because these girls are my second family,” said Heritage, one of four captains along with Lilla and juniors Sophia Seneker and Lindsey Zanchetta. “We went through the highs and the lows together, but we always stayed positive and supported each other.”
Brighton and Grand Blanc tied for fourth place, followed by 2018 champion Sterling Heights Stevenson, Utica Eisenhower and Hartland.
PHOTOS: (Top) Rochester Hills Stoney Creek scored the highest in all three rounds at Friday's Division 1 Finals. (Middle) Rochester Adams followed its rival with its second straight runner-up finish.