TC West 'Creatures' of Cheer Habit
February 11, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
TRAVERSE CITY – The “Bleacher Creatures” stood only 250 strong for Friday’s Traverse City West boys basketball game against Petoskey.
A hockey game in Trenton took those 25 players out of the cheering section, with 50 more performing a play and 25 playing a jazz concert. Still, by Friday’s fourth quarter, at least a few from those other events trickled into the gym to finish the night with their green-clad classmates.
No one expects someone to skip another school activity to join the Creatures. Those who have to work on game nights are exempt, and having a lot of homework also is excusable.
Otherwise, showing up, like most of the student section’s rules, simply is part of an unwritten code – like going to class or eating lunch. It goes along with being a part of Traverse City West, the fourth stop on this season’s MHSAA Battle of the Fans tour.
“People don’t think of it as we have a better student section than other people; oh, our student section is the best of the best, the loudest, this and this and this,” West senior Brian Jean said. “Really, I just think it’s a way of life around here. We just ... go. That’s just what we do.”
Traverse City West was the second-to-last stop on this year’s Battle of the Fans III tour. MHSAA staff and Student Advisory Council members will finish at Beaverton on Friday and already have visited Buchanan, Bridgman and Frankfort. Public voting on the MHSAA’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram sites will take place Feb. 18-20, with the Student Advisory Council taking that vote into consideration when selecting the champion.
The winner will be announced on Second Half on Feb. 21 and honored with a championship banner during the Boys Basketball Semifinals on March 21 at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
Traverse City West is by far the largest of this year’s BOTF finalists. But it also has one of the most established student section traditions of any finalist during the contest’s three-year run – and it’s a history current leaders proudly recall with detail.
The school, born in 1997 when the former Traverse City High split into West and Central, is young by relative standards. A student body of just more than 1,600 students is represented in part by a 45-member student senate, which among other duties organizes the Bleacher Creatures, publicizes game nights and generally works to build school spirit.
Current senior leaders were in fourth grade in 2006. But they are able to rattle off that the section in its official form with its Bucket Brigade leaders was started by a student named Chase O’Black, who actually has a “titan spirit scholarship” named after him that is available to one Traverse City West boy and girl each spring.
“In middle school you used to walk around the football field with your friends,” senior Kelsey Boudjalis said, “and you always saw the high schoolers and said, ‘I can’t wait to be like that.’”
The student senate provides the Bleacher Creatures an official mechanism made up of athletes from a number of sports plus others who participate in theater, Model United Nations and a host of other non-sports activities. With input from such a variety of social groups, the section represents a “melting pot” of the school on a larger scale, senior Charlie Clark said.
Start with the Bucket Brigade. Although not officially designated by the student senate as the leaders, the four seniors who dress in paint suits and bang plastic 5-gallon buckets (but only at outdoor events) are the unwritten ring masters of the Creatures, with Brigade responsibilities handed down year by year. This year’s brigade is comprised of four senate members including school governor Brady Severt.
If the Brigade gets things rolling, tradition drives the rest. Doors for football games open at 5:30 p.m., and Creatures are waiting. The section can swell to nearly 1,000 students for Homecoming or a big game against rival Traverse City Central, but like at many schools it’s an another unspoken rule that students start at the top as freshmen and gradually move forward to the front (unless they have older friends to hang with or a sweet bunny suit like Severt wore a few times as an underclassmen).
Of course, the Creatures have themes: Green Screen in West’s version of a White Out, although the Creatures like White Outs as well and combine them with Toga Nights. Wild, Wild West is a Homecoming tradition going back nearly to the start, and a neat latest addition is the Patriot Game – during which West wears red or blue and rival Traverse City Central wears the opposite, and together they raise money for area veterans organizations.
There’s music too: The band jams an adjacent section during football games, with a drum line filling the breaks for indoor events. And the Creatures love fan buses, drumming up enough interest to set up two for soccer and one for a football game this fall, plus another for the West/Central hockey game Dec. 18 at Comerica Park in Detroit.
Getting word out to more than 1,600 students is a little different than for the other BOTF contenders half and a quarter of West’s size, for obvious reasons. But the senate incorporates a few strategies in addition to the usual social media blasts and school announcements:
- Signage: Banners hang from the second-floor balcony overlooking the school cafeteria (see video for visual) announcing what’s coming up.
- Word of mouth: Leaders visit the cafeteria during lunch hours, making sure to hit up tables of students they don’t recognize among section regulars in an effort to get everyone from every group involved.
Keeping 300-400 students doing the same cheers is another task of some doing given the size of the group. But because the Creatures use a mix of new and old, there’s uniformity regardless of which leaders are leading crews at games that often are being played simultaneously. The cheers always are the same, allowing everyone the opportunity to participate and athletes on every team – even bowling teams – to enjoy the support.
“It gives the team something to play for instead of just the school. When they’re looking into the stands and seeing the entire student body there, it’s like, ‘Wow, everyone really cares about the outcome of this game,’” Clark said.
“As an athlete,” senior Hunter Lumsden added,” playing in front of a big student section makes you want to play a lot harder.”
The one debatable point is how the section became the Bleacher Creatures. Does it go back to a zombie theme night? Was it in response to Central having its Superfans? “It goes too far back for the books,” Severt quipped.
But tradition doesn’t graduate. Jean said past Bucket Brigaders he followed at a distance as an underclassmen approached him while home from college this fall to shake his hand and impart congrats and encouragement.
There’s pride in seeing the section continuing in the “right direction,” Clark said. And that right direction means being known as the best in the northern Lower Peninsula.
“I feel like the student section is a big family. The part of the high school seniors before us was to show us how to (cheer),” Jean said. “Now we’re showing the younger generation, if you will, how it’s done.”
“When I look back at high school, it’s definitely going to be one of the things I’ll remember,” Boudjalis added. “I want other kids to feel that way too.”
Battle of the Fans III is sponsored in part by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.
PHOTOS: (Top) Traverse City West fans cheer on the boys basketball team during Friday's game against Petoskey. (Middle) "Bleacher Creatures," led by two "Bucket Brigade" members at the lower left corner, fall backward on a "punch-out" to celebrate a 3-pointer. (Photos courtesy of Rick Sack/TC Rick Photo.)
Scholars and Athletes 2013: Classes C, D
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 5, 2013
Eleven student-athletes from Michigan High School Athletic Association Class C and D member schools have been selected to receive scholarships through its Scholar-Athlete Award program.
Farm Bureau Insurance, in its 24th year of sponsoring the award, will give a $1,000 college scholarship to 32 individuals who represent their member school in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament. The first 30 scholarships are awarded proportionately by school classification and the number of student-athletes involved in those classes; also, there are two at-large honorees which can come from any classification.
Each of the scholarship recipients will be honored at halftime ceremonies of the Class C Boys Basketball Final game March 23 at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing. Commemorative medallions will be given to other finalists in recognition of their accomplishments.
The Class C Scholar-Athlete Award honorees are: Kylei Ratkowski, Bronson; Grace Smith, Kalamazoo Hackett; Nicole Winter, Watervliet; Jesse Anderson, Union City; Ashwin Fujii, Ann Arbor Greenhills; Connor Lockman, Royal Oak Shrine.
The Class D Scholar-Athlete Award scholarship recipients are: Elyse Kathleen Lisznyai, Hillsdale Academy; Elena Victoria Luce, Mason County Eastern; Charles Barchett, Watervliet Grace Christian; Chip A. Blood, Hillsdale Academy; Francisco Jay Noyola, Lansing Christian.
Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class C Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay is also included:
Kylei Ratkowski, Bronson. Three-time letterwinner in volleyball and basketball, serving as team captain in both sports. Also won a letter in track and field. Was all-conference and all-area in volleyball as a senior, and also a third-team all-state selection. Was Homecoming Queen in 2012. Class treasurer throughout high school and served for four years on student council, the last two years as vice president. Active in National Honor Society, Varsity Club and 4-H; and served as an officer in all three groups. Volunteers to instruct and officiate in youth girls volleyball and basketball and to work with a local food pantry and visit shut-ins. Plans medical studies at the University of Notre Dame or Michigan State University.
Essay Quote: “Athletics is about more than winning, it is about creating winners with the right attitude. It is about developing athletes that genuinely care about their opponents and do the right thing when put to the test. Sportsmanship is essential to educational athletics and we as athletes and fan of athletics need to do all we can to insure sportsmanship remains a significant part of every game.”
Grace Smith, Kalamazoo Hackett. Will earn her fourth varsity letter in soccer this spring, and also won three varsity letters in basketball. Was captain of basketball team this year, and most valuable of soccer team last spring. An Academic All-State honoree twice in both sports. Has also won all-district and all-league awards twice in soccer. Three-year member of National Honor Society, Student Athletic Advisory Board and Quiz Bowl team at her school. Was president of Student Athletic Advisory Board as a Senior, and Quiz Bowl team was a state finalist last year. Editor of student newspaper and Synthesis Literary Magazine. Has volunteered with Salvation Army, Vacation Bible School and Habitat for Humanity. Plans biology or pre-medical studies in college.
Essay Quote: “We both desperately wanted to win, but we saw the other person was more important than the outcome of the game. We did whatever we could to help our team win, but we did not do it out of hatred for our opponent. When the game was over, our friendship and mutual respect was still intact.”
Nicole Winter, Watervliet. Will earn 15 varsity letters in four different sports – four each in volleyball, basketball and softball; and three in track and field. A team captain and most valuable player in volleyball and basketball; and has earned all-conference honors in all four sports. Will finish basketball career as school record holder in assists and three-point field goals, and will likely top the 1,000-point mark in scoring. Also won Academic All-State award as a junior in basketball. President of school’s Student Council and vice president of the National Honor Society, and was also a class officer three times. Editor of school yearbook and member of newspaper staff; won an award for outstanding achieve as editor of the press association at Girls State. Will attend either Calvin College or Hope College to study communications, English or history.
Essay Quote: “No one will win every game; therefore, it is critical to learn how to conduct yourself after wins and losses. Losing is one of the toughest events to go through, but you learn more from one loss than from one hundred wins.”
Jesse Anderson, Union City. A four-year performer in both cross country and track and field. Helped track team to last three Big Eight Conference titles, and second place finishes at MHSAA Finals. Won all-conference honors as part of two relay teams and in two individual events. Was most valuable on 2012 cross country team. President of his class for three consecutive years, and vice president of National Honor Society. Active as a volunteer with local Red Cross and March of Dimes, and a member of his church youth group and 4-H. Served as editor of school yearbook. Won DAR Good Citizen Award and was twice selected as school Student of the Month. Plans medical studies at Grand Valley State University.
Essay Quote: “To truly know what sportsmanship is, you must be put in situations where being a good sportsman is not the easiest thing to do and making, at times, the unpopular choice to do what is right instead of what is easy.”
Ashwin Fujii, Ann Arbor Greenhills. A team captain in cross country and track and field, winning four varsity letters in both sports. Won All-State honors in cross country as a Junior, and as also an Academic All-State honoree. League champion in 3,200-meter run in track. Also a three-time letterwinner in swimming, where he holds several school records. On the Student Council for four years, elected president as a Senior. Was on the Chess Team and part of the Green Initiative Group for two years. Served as a volunteer swimming coach for kids recovering from cancer therapy. A National Merit Scholar Semifinalists, and a two-time Greenhills School Academic Scholar honoree. Will attend the University of Michigan and study engineering.
Essay Quote: “Just as competing with sportsmanship will make you better, competing without it will do nothing but make you dirtier and more disrespectful. Competitors lacking sportsmanship might win at first, but they won’t improve.”
Connor Lockman, Royal Oak Shrine. Will earn his fourth letter in track and field this Spring to go with four letters in soccer and one letter in cross country. Has served as a team captain in cross country and track and field. An all-league performer in all three sports, was league 800-meter champion the past two years. Has participated in the MHSAA Finals in both cross country and track. Was academic all-state and track team most valuable in 2012. Other school activity involvement includes National Honor Society, Ski Club, Backstage Tech Crew, the Winners Circle leadership forum, and a leader in Kairos. Has also been a youth soccer coach and referee. Will attend Michigan State University to study pre-law.
Essay Quote: “Sportsmanship is turning for the finish line with one hundred meters left and not giving up. Running toward the pain because you are the anchor of your 3,200-meter relay. Second place would not matter that much for you because you have three more opportunities at a championship. Your teammates may not though. You run towards the pain for your teammates and that is true sportsmanship.”
Other Class C girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Alyssa R. Briolat, Ubly; Kara Craig, Schoolcraft; Lindsey Dopheide, Lawton; Margaret Elizabeth Durbin, Boyne City; Macayla Geiner, Hart; Natalie Perry, Sand Creek; Theresa Pickell, Reese; Abigail Radomsky, Kalamazoo Hackett; and Faith Schroeder, Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary.
Other Class C boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Brian Christopher Aldrich, Kalamazoo Hackett; Kenner Broullire, Manistique; Jesse Corbat, Breckenridge; Parker Eldred, Blanchard Montabella; Zachary A. Kerr, Saugatuck; Mike O'Brien, Maple City-Glen Lake; Elliott Rains, Sand Creek; Quinton Rice, Marcellus; and Luke Schaffner, Clinton.
Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class D Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay is also included:
Elyse Kathleen Lisznyai, Hillsdale Academy. Will earn 16 varsity letters in high school career in basketball, cross country, golf and track. Began high school competition in eighth grade because of school’s small enrollment, and won all-state honors in cross country and track in 2008-09. Ran leg of winning 3,200-relay at MHSAA L.P. Division 4 Track & Field Finals in 2010, was part of two medaling relays in 2012. Played in Division 4 Golf Finals five straight years, and finished sixth individually in 2012. Captained golf and track teams. Participated throughout high school in 4-H, Student Council, Drama Club, Chamber Choir and in church youth group. Student Council and National Honor Society officer. Plans to study pre-law at the University of Michigan.
Essay Quote: “As an athlete in the MHSAA, I have dedicated myself to a level of integrity and honesty that manifests itself in my behavior on the field and in the classroom. While I made this commitment as a sportsman, it had taken roots much deeper than in the athletic arena, before I was even old enough to participate in sports. This devotion to the protection of that which is true, good, and beautiful was taught to me as a child by my parents, solidified as a student at Hillsdale Academy, and perpetuated always by a firm belief in God.”
Elena Victoria Luce, Mason County Eastern. Lettered in five sports – basketball, volleyball, softball, soccer and cross country – earning 17 letters. Captained basketball, soccer and volleyball squads; and was all conference in those sports, as well as softball. Academic all-state selection in basketball, and winner of 2012 BCAM Three-Point Shooter’s Challenge at MHSAA Basketball Finals. Class president through middle school and high school. Active in Varsity Club, National Honor Society, Quiz Bowl and yearbook editor. Has been a religious education at her church, and volunteered with the Special Olympics and AYSO Soccer. She plans to pursue a degree in accounting or business in college.
Essay Quote: “Sportsmanship allows our athletic activities to maintain a competitive level, yet, we are still able to remain respectful to our opponents, and we can maintain our dignity. Nobody wants to feel degraded or put down in anything they do, and sports are supposed to be fun and enjoyable. Sportsmanship is important because it allows all of these things to be possible, and displaying these characteristics allows teams and athletics to be successful in anything they do.”
Charles Barchett, Watervliet Grace Christian. Team captain in all three of his sports – baseball, basketball and soccer. All-conference performer in baseball and soccer. Won team most valuable honors in soccer as a goalie and set school single season record for saves in 2012. Academic all-state honoree in baseball. Participated in 4-H and Buddies In Christ throughout high school. Also took part in drama, National Honor Society and Student Council. Volunteers with the Berrien County Youth Fair, his school cafeteria and as statistician for boys basketball team. Plans to attend Bradley University.
Essay Quote: “Actions speak louder than words, and my actions on the field or court exemplify my personal leadership and integrity. In my mind, that leaves me with two options: play with sportsmanship or don’t play at all.”
Chip A. Blood, Hillsdale Academy. Played varsity basketball, golf and soccer throughout high school and lettered in basketball and golf as eighth grader due to school’s small enrollment, earning 14 letters. Team captain, leading scorer and all-conference in all three sports. Has played in MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals in each of the past four years, placing third in 2010 and eighth in 2012. Four-year participant in Knights of Columbus Squires, Student Council, Drama Club and as volunteer with Salvation Army. Played French Horn in school band, participated in National Honor Society and various church activities. Will study economics at the University of Notre Dame.
Essay Quote: “In my participation in athletics, one trait has always been deemed most valuable in a competitor: sportsmanship. Every organization seems to champion this virtue. However, it begs the question: what defines sportsmanship, and why does it matter…four years of high school have answered the question for me, and I have had the pleasure of seeing true sportsmanship exemplified.”
Francisco Jay Noyola, Lansing Christian. Won all-state honors in soccer, and also participated in basketball and golf. Team captain in golf and soccer, and won all-conference awards in both. Has made mission trips to Guatemala the past three years and Mexico this year with schoolmates, helping build soccer fields. Member of National Honor Society, Sexually Mature Aware Responsible Team (SMART), Science Olympiad, and is active with church youth group. Plans to attend Hope College and study engineering.
Essay Quote: “Sportsmanship affects the game and the team. Knowing how to handle my emotions has made me a better sport, and having teammates who are good sports makes the game more fun. Sportsmanship is an essential part of educational athletics because it makes sports worth playing.
Other Class D girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Anna Marie Couture, Posen; Sarah Cullip, St. Ignace; Erica LeClaire, Dollar Bay; Christina Smith, Gaylord St. Mary; Kari L. Steenwyk, Ellsworth; and Krysta M. VanDamme, Rock-Mid Peninsula.
Other Class D boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Brett Branstrom, Rock-Mid Peninsula; Matthew R. Katz, Tekonsha; Alexander G. Knight, Lake Linden-Hubbell; Joseph Samuel Paquette, Munising; and Hunter Selby, Genesee Christian.
Students applying for the Scholar-Athlete Award must be carrying at least a 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) grade-point average, and have previously won a letter in a varsity sport in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors a postseason tournament. Other requirements for the applicants were to show active participation in other school and community activities and produce an essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
The Class B scholarship award recipients will be announced on February 12, and the Class A honorees will be announced on February 19.
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