Champion Chiefs Runners-up No More
March 7, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
CANTON – Second place. Second place. Second place.
For three seasons, Canton fell just short of ending Grand Ledge’s hold on the MHSAA gymnastics championship.
On Friday, Canton finished a quest coach John Cunningham started 35 years ago – and claimed its first MHSAA title. The Chiefs scored 146.650 points, 2.4 more of Grand Ledge, to break the Comets’ six-season championship streak.
“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe that it’s true,” said senior Melissa Green, who with Erica Lucas were part of all three runner-up teams as well. “I really felt like we had a chance every year I’ve been on the team. … We just wanted to get better. We knew if we got better, we would score better, just do better.”
Cunningham has coached girls gymnastics longer than Canton has had a team – and longer than the MHSAA has sponsored the sport.
He began in 1968, and took over the Chiefs in 1979. They finished runner-up one other time, in 1996. And they got really close in 2012, falling just .825 points back of the Comets.
Cunningham knew by comparing scores during the regular season that his team would have another shot Friday. After having to count three falls on beam, the Chiefs came back with a 37.900 on floor and a 37.300 on vault to take a five-point lead heading into their and Grand Ledge’s final rotations.
The Comets finished on vault and put together a 37.300, coming together after every successful landing to celebrate as they cut the deficit in half. Sophomore Rachel Hogan landed a vault she’s been inconsistent with for a 9.8, and sophomore Lexi Payne scored a 9.025 on a vault coach Duane Haring said she’s been landing “two percent” of the time.
But Canton held on with a 35.250 on bars to finish up and keep the edge in the final standings.
“The real quality of my team is depth. The hardest thing I had to do this week was take two girls out,” Cunningham said. "We sat girls who were getting 9s. … I had three all-arounders, and then I set the lineup with what was strongest.”
Junior Jocelyn Moraw scored an all-around 37.325 for Canton, followed by sophomore Maddie Toal at 36.725 and Green with a 36.225. Lucas and three more sophomores filled out the lineup, with Lucas contributing a 9.325 on vault. “We’ve been working hard the entire season, getting skills we never thought we’d be able to get before," Green said.
Grand Ledge has a pair of contenders for Saturday’s Division 1 individual championship, and both shined in the Team Final. Hogan scored an all-around 38.600, while senior Presley Allison – last season’s Division 2 individual champ – added a 37.650.
Farmington, the 2010 runner-up, just missed returning to the top two by finishing five hundredths of a point behind the Comets to take third. Sophomore Carina Wright scored an all-around 36.275 and senior Meredith Jonik added a 36.125.
The second-place finish ends another incredible run for Grand Ledge. Before Friday, the Comets had won 106 straight competitions – dual meets and invitationals combined – dating to the 2007 MHSAA Team Final, where they finished runner-up to Holt.
“You add up all the teams, and that’s hundreds. We’re not ashamed of anything,” Haring said. “Nothing lasts forever. Second place after we were in fifth place after three events? There’s nothing to be ashamed of at all on this team.
“They knew what they needed to try to tighten the gap for second place. They never gave up. … They were going to fight to the end.”
Grosse Pointe United finished fourth, led by Isabelle Nguyen’s all-around 37.725. Grand Rapids Forest Hills was fifth, with Cassidy Terhorst scoring a 36.825.
PHOTOS: (Top) Canton's Melissa Green finishes her routine on floor during Friday's MHSAA Team Final. (Middle) Grand Ledge finished second Friday, ending a six-season championship streak but continuing an eight-season streak of top-two finishes. (Click to see more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Hartland Soars on Vault in Final Rotation To Finish Repeat Championship Run
By
Brad Emons
Special for MHSAA.com
March 7, 2026
HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP – Friday’s MHSAA Gymnastics Team Final went pretty much according to script in what became a three-team race at Milford High School.
Hartland, scoring 146.50 points, fended off challenges from upstart Farmington United (145.45) and last year’s runner-up Rockford (143.85) to earn its second-straight title and third in school history.
Rounding out the top six in the 12-team field were Plymouth (142.325), host Huron Valley United (141.375) and Parma Western (139.750).
“It’s the best feeling ever, honestly,” Hartland coach Gavin Kress said. “It’s such a great feeling. You honestly don’t think about it until you are actually in it.”
Rockford has nine Finals titles to its credit, including three straight from 2022-24, while Farmington has five.
Hartland, which entered the meet after scoring a Regional-best 147.750, saved its best for last nailing the vault routine with a 37.425 on its final rotation.
“Event-wise, it was vault where we got four top scores that we needed,” Kress said. “That’s what pulled us (away from the rest of the field). Floor was really a beneficial thing for us, and I think ending on the vault gave us the push to get us the win.”
Among Hartland’s standouts was senior Alexis Fundich, who will attempt to win the Division 1 individual title Saturday after finishing second a year ago.
“We had a few mess-ups, but overall, we were working hard and did well, it was good” Fundich said. “That was a great way to end the meet, and it really solidified our spot. I think definitely it’s one of our strongest (apparatus). Our floor is pretty strong for us as well, too.”
Hartland won last year’s crown by 2.05 points over Hartland, but this time it was Farmington making a serious push.
“Honestly, that was not expected, but they did great,” Kress said of United. “Honestly, when we go out there, we watch Farmington and Rockford because we know they are our biggest competitors. To hear that they got second place was amazing, and they deserved that spot.”
Veteran Farmington coach Jeff Dwyer, finishing his 38th season, was elated with his team’s result.
“I knew we were in it with Rockford, Plymouth, Huron Valley, and I knew Hartland,” he said. “I kind of thought they were not maybe untouchable, but they’ve got some studs that are really hard to touch.
“Just proud of our girls. We couldn’t have done any better, I think. That was our highest score all year. And to close on the beam, you’re saying, ‘Come on,’ that’s a nerve-wracking event and I think we were the highest scoring beam team.”
Senior Mikayla Dicks was the all-around individual star for Farmington United with the meet’s highest total of 37.925. She posted the highest score on the uneven bars (9.475) and had the second-highest score on the balance beam (9.6) behind Huron Valley’s Stella Musialowski (9.725).
Meanwhile, Fundich posted a 37.625 all-around that was the meet’s second highest, thanks to tying for the top score on floor exercise with Rockford’s Elise Watkins (9.65) and scoring the second highest on the uneven bars.
“I can always count on beginning with her ever since her sophomore year,” Kress said. “She’s always been a clean gymnast and a strong gymnast. I can always rely on her out there and showing what she can do. I couldn’t ask for anything else.”
Friday night’s event was a team competition, which will be followed by the individual Division 1 and 2 Finals competition beginning at noon Saturday at Milford.
“It feels really good especially losing those seniors (from last year), with all the hard work we put in,” Fundich said. “It’s an amazing feeling. We knew it was kind of between Farmington and Rockford. We kind of knew we had a little bit of competition. It got a little nerve-wracking towards the end, but we just still hit our routines and it paid off.”
PHOTOS (Top) Hartland’s gymnasts share a moment during their rotation on vault at Friday’s MHSAA Team Final. (Middle) A Huron Valley United gymnast competes on balance beam. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)