Preview: Power Pair Returning for Finals Rematch, New Individual Champs Set to Soar
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 5, 2026
Hartland breaking past perennial power Rockford to win last season’s MHSAA Finals team gymnastics championship seemed to put those two on a collision course to meet again with this season’s title on the line.
Seven teams scored at least 140 points at their Regionals last weekend. But Hartland and Rockford put up the top scores by solid margins and should again be favorites at Friday’s Team Final at Milford High School.
The individual competitions Saturday are guaranteed new champions, as both 2025 winners graduated. Hartland’s Alexis Fundich was a close second in Division 1 last season but will have to hold off a group that includes other past placers and a few top challengers competing at the Finals for the first time. In Division 2, nearly half of last season’s top 10 could make a run at climbing to the podium’s highest step.
Team competition begins at 4 p.m. Friday, with individual competition in both Divisions 1 and 2 beginning at noon Saturday. For information on purchasing tickets, Finals rotations for both days and Regional results, go to the Gymnastics page – and see below for several contenders to watch:
Team
Farmington United: The program with the third-most Finals team titles in MHSAA history finished second in 2024 and third last winter and will be in pursuit of a first championship since 2019. Farmington won its Regional last week at Birmingham Groves by less than a point ahead of Huron Valley United, 143.500-142.675, but finishing first on vault (36.850) and bars (35.325) and also topping 36 points on beam.
Hartland: The Eagles won last season’s team title by 2.05 points ahead of Rockford, and the title was the program’s first since 1999. They posted the highest Regional score in the state last week, 147.750, to win at East Lansing by nearly seven points and with scores of 36.150 on bars, 36.825 on vault, 37.200 on beam and 37.575 on floor – the beam and floor scores exceeding what they posted at last year’s Final.
Rockford: The Rams own the record for most Finals championships – seven – and saw their three-year championship streak end with a runner-up finish last winter. But they certainly could make it four titles in five years this week after winning their Regional week with a 146.275 at their home gym. A 36.900 on beam and 37.450 scores on vault and floor were especially notable.
Division 1
Mikayla Dicks, Farmington United senior: She will compete at her first MHSAA Finals after finishing second all-around at her Regional with a 36.900 and first places on vault (9.55) and bars (9.625).
Olivia Flatt, Hartland junior: She competed on three apparatuses at last season’s Final with high places of fifth on beam and vault, and will compete all-around this time after finishing third at her Regional with a 36.375 while tying for first on beam (9.5).
Alexis Fundich, Hartland senior: The reigning all-around runner-up missed the championship last season by only a few tenths of a point and won floor. She returns after winning her Regional all-around with a 37.950 and first places on bars (9.675), beam (9.5, tied) and floor (9.825).
Kate Gostlin, Hartland senior: She will graduate having competed at Finals all four years of high school, and improved all-around from 23rd as a sophomore to 12th last season with a championship on vault. She should make another big jump all-around after finishing second to Fundich at their Regional with a 36.600 – which included a win on vault (9.8).
Isabella Janiga, Tecumseh sophomore: The Brooklyn Columbia Central student competes for Tecumseh as part of a cooperative program and finished 14th all-around last season. She’ll return after winning her Regional all-around last week at 36.300 with a first place on beam (9.425).
Grace LaFlure, Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills senior: She will also compete at the Finals for the first time after finishing second all-around at her Regional with a 36.225 that included a first place on bars (8.85).
Stella Musialowski, Huron Valley United senior: She could make a run at the all-around championship after improving from tied for 15th as a sophomore to sixth last season and winning her Regional all-around last week with a 37.225 that included a first place on floor (9.55).
Elise Watkins, Rockford senior: She’s made an impressive progression from competing on two apparatuses in Division 2 as a freshman, to finishing 18th in Division 1 all-around as a sophomore and competing on three apparatuses in Division 1 as a junior. She will enter her last Finals coming off a Regional-winning 36.425 all-around that included first places on beam (9.425) and floor (9.625).
Division 2
Taliya Andrews, East Lansing Catholic DeWitt junior: She competed on Division 1 floor as a freshman and returns to the Finals after finishing a close second at her Regional in all-around at 36.150 with a first place on floor (9.45).
Baylee Bartlett, Grand Ledge senior: She could make a run at the all-around title after finishing sixth a year ago and third last week at her Regional with a 35.200 that included a tie for first place on beam (9.3).
Rae DeFrang, Rockford junior: She won her Regional all-around at 36.900 with a first place on bars (9.15) and second places on the other three apparatuses. She finished 12th all-around at last year’s Final.
Reese DeFrang, Rockford junior: She’s the reigning Division 2 vault champion and will compete all-around at the Finals for the first time after finishing third at her Regional with a 36.025 and winning vault (9.6).
Phoebe Elder, Haslett United senior: She went from competing on three apparatuses as a sophomore to finishing 11th all-around in Division 1 last season, and could make another jump into contention after winning last week’s Regional all-around with a 36.325 and a first place on bars (9.375).
Isabel Galindo, Plymouth senior: After tying for eighth all-around last season, she enters this weekend as a contender coming off a Regional championship score of 35.200 with a first place on vault (9.175).
Lillian Green, Rockford junior: She finished third all-around at last season’s Final and heads into this weekend after scoring a 36.275 Regional all-around to finish second with first places on floor (9.3) and beam (9.3).
Olivia Lothian, Lowell junior: She went from competing on two apparatuses as a freshman to finishing fifth all-around last season. She placed fourth behind the Rockford trio at their Regional with a 35.350 and top-11 places on every apparatus.
Aubrey Woodman, Farmington United junior: She’s won bars at the Finals both of her first two seasons and could contend for the all-around title this weekend after winning her Regional with a 35.700 and another bars title (9.0).
PHOTOS (Top) A gymnast performs her bars routine during last season’s MHSAA Team Final at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills. (Middle) Haslett United’s Phoebe Elder competes on floor exercise during the Division 1 individual meet. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Preview: Plenty of Title Opportunities
March 9, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
While last year’s MHSAA Gymnastics Team Final featured a group of veteran contenders rising as expected to the top, Friday’s season finale could be one of the most wide-open in some time.
Two-time reigning champion Rockford has surged again with a mix of old and new contributors, and looks like a favorite once more. So too does 2014 champion Canton, and Farmington has an opportunity to win in a way that definitely is rare; more on that below. Brighton and Forest Hills are among contenders seeking to win an MHSAA title for the first time.
Individually, there are guaranteed to be new champions both in Division 1 and 2 – but with some high placers from the last few seasons hoping to top the podium.
Team competition begins at 2 p.m. Friday at Plymouth, with the final rotation scheduled for 6:40 p.m. Individual competition in both Divisions 1 and 2 begins at noon Saturday.
Read on for a glance at a number of contenders with high hopes this weekend, and click for rotation schedules for both days of competition.
Team Contenders
Brighton – The Bulldogs have finished seventh, eighth and 10th over the last three seasons, respectively, but have a great chance to contend Friday coming off a Regional title won with the third highest score in the state last weekend, 144.600. Seniors Courtney Casper and Hannah Bracken took first and second in the Division 1 all-around at the Regional, and four gymnastics earned all-around places in Division 2.
Canton – The Chiefs finished fifth last season after five years coming in either first or second, but they’re poised to return to contention coming off a Regional win (143.425) and runner-up finish earlier at their prestigious Canton Invitational. Junior Victoria Faber was the individual Division 1 champion at the Regional, while teammates Kelsea Kernosek and Jana Hilditch took fifth and seventh, respectively, and Katie Dickson was 11th. Rachel Socha was third in the Division 2 all-around. Hilditch, Dickson and Kernosek placed among the top 15 in Division 1 at last season’s Individual Finals.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills United – Forest Hills earned its first top-two finish ever last season, coming in runner-up and 1.25 points behind Rockford/Sparta. Forest Hills finished behind Rockford by 3.425 at last week’s Regional but posted a score of 144.375. Senior Christine Byam was Division 1 individual runner-up last weekend – she took sixth at last season’s Finals.
Farmington – After moving up from fifth in 2015 to third last winter, Farmington might be the favorite with the second-highest Regional score last week (146.225) plus first places earlier at the Canton Invitational and Rockford Invitational. A championship would truly be impressive – Farmington has a stellar group of Division 2 gymnasts, including three who have qualified for the Individual Finals all-around, but none competing in Division 1. Junior Elisa Bills and senior Jacquelyn Farquhar were second and third, respectively, in Division 2 at last season’s Finals.
Rockford – The Rams graduated two of the state’s best of the last few seasons last spring coming of their second straight team championship. But they’re right back in the mix after scoring a state-high 147.800 to win their Regional last week. Seniors Nicole Coughlin, Carly Coughlin and Kaitie Killinger all contributed at last year’s Team Final and took first, third and fifth, respectively, in Division 1 at last week’s Regional as the Rams also took three of the top four all-around places in Division 2. They were third at the Canton Invitational and second at their own, but won the Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills Invitational.
Division 1
Hannah Bracken, Brighton senior – She finished second to teammate Casper at their Regional with an all-around 35.800 and was top four on every apparatus. She finished 20th all-around in Division 1 at last season’s Finals but took second on vault (9.675).
Christine Byam, Forest Hills United senior – After finishing sixth all-around at last season’s Finals, Byam could make a run at the top spot after finishing second but only a tenth of a point out of first at her Regional with a 37.300.
Emily Caragay, Plymouth junior – She set her school’s all-around record earlier this season of 37.250 and was second at her Regional last weekend with a 36.575.
Courtney Casper, Brighton senior – She’s won Kensington Lakes Activities Association and Regional championships ahead of some of the others on this list, last week earning her championship with a score of 37.375 and first places in three of four events.
Carly Coughlin, Rockford senior – Although she did not contend for the all-around at last season’s Finals, she was sixth on floor and tied for 11th on beam, and she should be in the all-around mix this time after posting a 36.775 to finish third all-around at her Regional.
Nicole Coughlin, Rockford senior – She’s finished fifth and third all-around, respectively, over the last two seasons and should make one last run at the title. Coughlin edged Byam to win their Regional with a 37.400, and she’s also the reigning Division 1 Finals champion on beam.
Victoria Faber, Canton junior – Faber won a strong Regional by 25 hundredths of a point over Caragay, with a score of 36.600 and a first place on bars. She also won bars at her team’s Canton Invitational.
Kaitie Killinger, Rockford senior – Killinger was in the team mix last season, competing on two apparatuses as her team won the title, but she could make an impact in Saturday’s individual competition after posting a fourth-place 36.675 at her Regional.
Erin McCallum, Northville junior – McCallum won vault and finished third all-around (36.200) behind Faber and Caragay at their Regional, and she should take a big jump this weekend after tying for 17th all-around a year ago.
Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe United senior – Nguyen added a Regional title (37.400) to her Canton Invitational win earlier this season, and she’s arguably the favorite in Division 1 after finishing fifth, second and second all-around, respectively, at the Finals the last three seasons.
Brianne Smith, Port Huron sophomore – Smith finished second to Nguyen at their Regional for the second year in a row, this time posting a 36.550. She placed 12th at last season’s Finals, tying for second on beam, and could climb this weekend.
Division 2
Karmen Anderson, Lowell senior – After competing at the Finals in vault and bars as a junior, Anderson is contending for a top all-around finish in her final high school meet. She won beam on the way to the all-around title at her Regional (35.650).
Elisa Bills, Farmington junior – Bills finished seventh in Division 2 as a freshman and second last season only three tenths of a point off the lead. She won last week’s Regional (37.375) with firsts on floor, vault and bars.
Jacquelyn Farquhar, Farmington senior – Like her teammate Bills, Farquhar has continued to climb from ninth in 2015 to third last winter, and she finished second to Bills at the Regional (36.900) while winning beam.
Afton LaFrance, Grand Ledge senior – After finishing fourth on floor at last season’s Finals, LaFrance looks to contend all-around coming off a Regional title (36.100) and a floor win last week.
Kennedi Seals, Farmington senior – Seals finished third of four teammates and third overall all-around at their Regional (35.850) and should be in the mix with them again.
Alyssa Walker, Howell senior – Walker has finished fourth all-around two seasons in a row and will try to finish strong again after taking second all-around at her Regional (35.750) but with a win on beam – which she also won at the Finals last season.
Jessica Weak, Livonia Blue senior – Weak jumped from 18th as a sophomore to tie for fifth last season, her second top-eight finish at the Finals, and she’s in contention to end her career number one. She won her Regional (35.650) and is the reigning Finals bars champion.
PHOTO: Rockford is shooting for its third straight MHSAA team championship, led by sisters Carly and Nicole Coughlin.