Performance of the Week: Rochester's Aubrey Hillard
February 7, 2025
Aubrey Hillard ♦ Rochester
Senior ♦ Competitive Cheer
Hillard is finishing a highlight-filled four-year varsity career with a leading role for one of the most accomplished competitive cheer programs in state history. She and her teammates took a significant step toward another big finish Saturday by clinching a third-straight Oakland Activities Association Red championship. The top-ranked Falcons posted a score of 790.26 in their final league competition, edging No. 2 Stoney Creek by 52 hundredths of a point, with No. 3-ranked Adams finishing third.
Rochester finished third to those two at the 2024 MHSAA Division 1 Final after winning the 2023 Division 1 championship – with Hillard making the all-state second team that season as a sophomore. Primarily a gymnast growing up, Hillard turned her focus fully to competitive cheer as a freshman in 2022 and helped Rochester to a fifth-place Finals finish that season. Hillard also earned academic all-state last year as a junior.
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@mhsaasports 📣POW: Aubrey Hillard #caitlynclark #paigebueckers #veggies #100grand #redheart #part2 #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
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Previous 2024-25 honorees
Jan. 31: Wyatt Spalo, Reed City wrestling - Report
Jan. 24: Olivia Flynn, Harbor Springs basketball - Report
Jan. 17: Levi Rozema, Holland Christian swimming - Report
Jan. 10: McRecco McFadden, Burton Bentley basketball - Report
Dec. 18: Nash Leonard, Bay City Western hockey - Report
Dec. 11: Blake Cosby, Dundee wrestling - Report
Dec. 4: Keaton Hendricks, Zeeland West football - Report
Nov. 29: Kate Simon, East Grand Rapids swimming - Report
Nov. 22: Ella Kokaly, Essexville Garber volleyball - Report
Nov. 15: Caroline Bryan, Grosse Pointe South swimming - Report
Nov. 8: Kaylie Livingston, Whitmore Lake cross country - Report
Oct. 25: Oliver Caldwell, Grand Rapids West Catholic tennis - Report
Oct. 18: Alex Graham, Detroit Cass Tech football - Report
Oct. 11: Victoria Garces, Midland Dow cross country - Report
Oct. 4: Asher Clark, Bay City John Glenn soccer - Report
Sept. 26: Campbell Flynn, Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball - Report
Sept. 19: TJ Hansen, Freeland cross country - Report
Sept. 12: Jordan Peters, Grayling soccer - Report
Sept. 6: Gabe Litzner, Sault Ste. Marie cross country - Report
Aug. 30: Grace Slocum, Traverse City St. Francis golf - Report
(Photos courtesy of the Rochester athletic department.)
Bedford's Gandee Honored for 'Spirit'
March 13, 2017
By John Gillis
Special from NFHS
Hunter Gandee, a student-athlete at Temperance Bedford High School, has been selected as the 2017 Section 4 recipient of the “National High School Spirit of Sport Award” by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
The National High School Spirit of Sport Award was created by the NFHS to recognize those individuals who exemplify the ideals of the spirit of sport that represent the core mission of education-based athletics.
The mark of a “good big brother” is often to what lengths he might go to assist his younger siblings.
That sense of familial assistance has perhaps never been taken to the extremes that Hunter Gandee has repeatedly done for his younger brother Braden.
A standout student, Hunter is a junior with a 3.92 grade-point average and a member of the National Honor Society.
On the sports side, Hunter is in his third season on the varsity wrestling team, and participates in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling during the offseason. He's also a member of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council.
While those accomplishments are unquestionably outstanding, they might pale in comparison to what he has done for Braden.
Born with cerebral palsy, Braden has limited use of his legs. Nonetheless, Hunter has taken it upon himself to help Braden know what it feels like to walk long distances – and he’s done it three times. Organized for the purpose of raising awareness of cerebral palsy, Hunter literally carries Braden on his back for long walks known as “CP Swaggers.”
In 2014, Hunter carried Braden 40 miles from the Bedford Junior High School wrestling room to the University of Michigan’s Bahna Wrestling Center. The following year, they upped the trek’s mileage to 57 miles.
However, that couldn’t foreshadow what was to follow in April 2016 when Hunter carried Braden on his back an amazing 111 miles – some 14 miles more than the first two walks combined.
About the Award: The NFHS divides the nation into eight geographical sections. The states in Section 4 are Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin.
Nominations for this award were generated through NFHS member state associations and reviewed by the NFHS Spirit of Sport Award Selection Committee composed of state association staff members.
While the national winner will be recognized June 29 at the NFHS Summer Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, the section winners will be recognized within their respective states and will receive awards before the end of the current school year.
PHOTO: Hunter Gandee, second from right, carries his brother Braden as part of their effort to bring awareness to cerebral palsy. (Photo courtesy of The Cerebral Palsy Swagger.)