5 Ways West’s Creatures Continue to Crush

January 24, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

TRAVERSE CITY – We’ve worn a path on U.S. 127 and M-115 the last few years with nearly annual visits to Traverse City West to check out the Bleacher Creatures for Battle of the Fans.

The reigning BOTF champions have set that kind of standard as one of Michigan’s elite high school student cheering sections – and didn’t disappoint Friday as we dropped in for “Titans GameDay” and our second stop on this year’s finalists tour.

The breakdown: In addition to winning last year’s Battle of the Fans V, Traverse City West’s Bleacher Creatures have been finalists three of the contest’s six years. That being the case, we’re pretty well-versed in the section’s beginnings under founder Chase O’Black, who served as the school’s student senate governor in 2007-08. The Creatures are organized and managed by the senate, and during games led by a group of 4-6 section leaders who wear green and yellow-sprayed paint suits and make up the Bucket Brigade – named for the buckets they pound during football games and other outdoor events.

We visited for Friday’s boys basketball game against Alpena and met with seniors Liz Anton, Dani Priest and Sam Schriber and junior Connor Thompson. Below is our video report, followed by some of what makes the Creatures contenders again.

1. This year is more than a victory lap.

And that’s quickly obvious. West didn’t have school Friday and only a half-day Thursday, yet nearly 300 Creatures filled the student section despite a number of families getting out of town for the long weekend. But that's how West rolls. Leaders told us about how some of their classmates showed up at the gate for this fall’s football game against rival Traverse City Central at 8 a.m. so they could be sure to get near the front of that night’s section – missing class to secure a spot (which, of course, we do not condone). “After winning last year, there’s definitely a standard or an expectation we have to meet. The bar is way up there,” Schriber said. But last year’s BOTF championship also has this year’s leaders wanting the section to be a little different too. So while they’re drawing on some of the many cheers and chants that have become tradition over the last decade, they’re also working to keep things fresh. And more importantly, Priest pointed out, while last year’s BOTF effort was driven hard by the school’s senate, this year’s is really being carried by the student body as a whole.

2. Senate rules.

Traverse City West has two student-led government bodies. The student council is responsible for more of the traditional student government work, “behind-the-scenes” efforts like stocking the school’s food pantry and working on projects aimed at daily lives of their constituents. The student senate – of which Priest is this school year’s governor – is more the social chair planning activities that “make school more of an enjoyable place,” she said. The senate created the Bleacher Creatures and manages all student section activities, with the leader of the Bucket Brigade – this year Schriber – among the 29 senators. Each grade of nearly 400 elects six representatives, and five more are chosen at-large based in part on past service. The school has nearly 1,600 students, but Schriber said he thinks the senate connects with probably 80 percent in some way by hosting a variety of entertainment options. And Battle of the Fans is a daily part of the conversation.

3. They’re always coming up with new ideas.

After now 27 visits to Battle of the Fans finalists, we rarely run across a completely original idea. And of course West does a lot this year of its favorite stuff from last year and others before – they have plenty in their bag that are time-tested and get the crowd rolling. But we’ve got to give a big shout for some of the most imaginative game themes we’ve heard. During a boys soccer game in the fall, the Creatures dressed up as soccer moms, complete with snacks for halftime. That’s at least a little related to last year’s “dad” theme, where students dressed up like dads but drifted more toward looking like grandfathers instead. For another soccer game, the Creatures took a spin way off a “green screen” theme, making it a shrubbery game where they all brought branches from various bushes and trees and formed something of a wooded wave. “We always have our classic themes that are super easy for people to get involved in,” Priest said. “But sometimes for games where we expect a lower turnout, we’ll just do a weird one.”

4. They really love their school.

There’s no question. In the video above you’ll hear Priest talk about being emotionally tied to her work with the Bleacher Creatures, and that passion is similar to what we found with last year’s leaders as well. Take as another example the annual “Patriot Game” – that football game between West and Central that led students to line up at 8 a.m. to get the best seats for a game that regularly draws upward of 8,000 fans including most of both student bodies. In the video above you’ll see Creatures before the Friday's game reciting “The Creature Creed” below, written by Schriber and Thompson this winter and another example of what’s behind the section spirit.

5. Because tradition doesn’t graduate.

As noted at the start of this report, the Bleacher Creatures have been around for a decade, and during all three of our visits we’ve heard current leaders recount how the foundation was laid – in fact, a spirit scholarship has been created for a graduating senior in O’Black’s name. Because of the senate, there is an organized and expected handing down of leadership from year to year, and the Bucket Brigade has a similar succession plan, with a junior or two chosen for the brigade each year, and those juniors then in charge of filling out the group the following fall when they are seniors. Senate leaders have a plan to visit the junior high and teach some of the cheers to this year’s eighth graders – and although that idea hasn’t panned out yet, a group of about 20 middle schoolers occupied the adjacent section Friday and even got a “Future Creatures” chant directed their way from their high school mentors.

In their words

All of one, one for all: “Being an athlete, I think almost every athlete’s dream is to win a state championship with their team,” Schriber said. “(Winning BOTF) isn’t just like the soccer team winning states; this is the entire school winning the state championship. That’s just so cool. … Everyone was a part of it.

Let’s do this again: “I think what sets this year apart is we won last year, and I think some people are like, ‘Oh, we already won. Do we even have to try now?’” Thompson said. “But then you see those kids who are at Thirlby (Field for the Patriot Game) at 8 or 9 in the morning and it just makes you realize we care about it just as much as they did in 2008. It’s still a really big thing here at West.”

No time to waste: “There’s a time you can just sit home and watch Netflix. There’s a time you just don’t want to be with anyone. There’s a time you just want to go home and take a nap. I have those days,” Anton said. “But when there are sports or games going on … this is high school. You have to enjoy it. Getting involved and going to these games is the highlight of my high school career.”

Next stop on BOTF: We'll visit Charlotte for Saturday's game against DeWitt, followed by trips to Petoskey (Feb. 1) and Frankenmuth (Feb. 3). Click for coverage of our visit to Boyne City on Jan. 13.

The Battle of the Fans is sponsored in part by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.

PHOTO: (Top) Traverse City West's Bleacher Creatures follow their Bucket Brigade leaders during Friday's boys basketball game against Alpena. (Photo by Alan Newton/Alan Newton Photography.)

Scholar-Athlete Awards Finalists Named

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

January 25, 2012

The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Award for the 2011-12 school year -- including three each from three schools -- have been announced.

The program, which has been recognizing student-athletes since the 1989-90 school year, will honor 32 individuals from MHSAA member schools who participate in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament. Farm Bureau Insurance underwrites the Scholar-Athlete Award, and will present a $1,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 544 scholarships have been awarded.

Scholarships will be presented proportionately by school classification, with 12 scholarships to be awarded to Class A student-athletes, six female and six male; eight scholarships will be awarded to Class B student-athletes, four female and four male; six scholarships will be awarded to Class C student-athletes, three female and three male; and four scholarships will be awarded to Class D student-athletes, two female and two male. In addition, there also will be two at-large honorees which also are part of the general judging process, may come from any classification, and are designated by their school at the time of entry.

Every MHSAA member high school could submit as many applications as there are scholarships available in its classification, and could have more than one finalist. Marlette, Northville and Rochester Adams each have three finalists this year, while 20 schools have two: Bay City Central, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, Birmingham Groves, Dearborn, Delton Kellogg, East Lansing, Frankfort, Hillsdale Academy, Hopkins, Jenison, Kinde-North Huron, Midland, Midland Dow, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Rochester, Spring Lake, Springport, Tecumseh, White Lake Lakeland and Williamston.

Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.58, while the average of the application pool was 2.13 – both within a tenth of last year’s rates in those categories. There are 66 three-plus sport participants in the finalist field, and all but three of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.

Of 386 schools which submitted applicants, 51 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,636 applications were received. All will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement. Additional Scholar-Athlete information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on this MHSAA Website link.

The applications were judged by a 62-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools. Selection of the 32 scholarship recipients will take place in early February. Class C and D scholarship recipients will be announced on February 7; Class B scholarship recipients will be announced on February 14, and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced on February 21. All announcements will be made on the MHSAA Web site.

To honor the 32 Scholar-Athlete Award recipients, a ceremony will take place during halftime of the Class C Boys Basketball Final, March 24 at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.

To be eligible for the award, students must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale), and previously have won a varsity letter in at least one sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. Students also were asked to respond to a series of short essay questions, submit two letters of recommendation and submit a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.

Farm Bureau Insurance, one of Michigan's major insurers, has a statewide force of more than 400 agents serving more than 380,000 Michigan policyholders. Besides providing life, home, auto, farm, business and retirement insurance, the company also sponsors life-saving, real-time Doppler weather tracking systems in several Michigan communities.

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,600 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.

2011-12 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists

BOYS CLASS A

Matthew Alexander Beem, Traverse City West

Brendon Clover, White Lake Lakeland

Ryan Denison, Dearborn

Saeed El Saghir, Bay City Central

Steven Alexander Fox, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central

Christopher Robert Hagan, East Lansing

Alexander Hassan, Ann Arbor Huron

Joshua M. Heinze, Plymouth

Knute Hoffman, Midland

Hunter Holtrop, Okemos

Josh Hoogendoorn, Jenison

Nick Iacobellis, DeWitt

Jeremy Kozler, Livonia Stevenson

Conrad Arthur Lather, Midland Dow

Alec Latta, Northville

Gabriel Martinez, Livonia Franklin

Robert Paul, Bay City Central

Andrew Poterala, Northville

Nick Rao, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice

Christopher Sesi, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice

Blaine Stannard, Birmingham Groves

Alex Taylor, Rochester Adams

Daniel Tzou, Midland Dow

Garret Zuk, White Lake Lakeland

GIRLS CLASS A

Kelsey Adamski, Richland Gull Lake

Ellery Alexander, Caledonia

Kortnie L. Bush, Southgate Anderson

Jaymie Dyer, Hartland

Bethany Easom, Saline

Yara Nidal Fakhoury, Dearborn

Heather Smith, Farmington Hills Mercy

Amanda Marie Fodera, Fraser

Alexa Giovanatti, Rochester Adams

Morgan Hawver, Grand Haven

Hannah Marie Howarth, Gibraltar Carlson

Kelsey Kerin, St Clair

Hannah Lee, Rochester Adams

Maria Lepore, Rochester

Kelly Lunghamer, Birmingham Marian

Nicole McDermott, Mason

Gina Marie McNamara, Northville

Katelyn Alexandra Pekala, Midland

Abigail Rawling, Rochester

Dana Schrauben, Lake Orion

Alexis Stanton, Jenison

Alexandra Trecha, East Lansing

Jessica Turner, Birmingham Groves

Abigail Wilson, Trenton

BOYS CLASS B

Jordan S. Daley, Grand Rapids Christian

Griffin Dean, Grayling

Nathaniel P. Gaynor, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep

Mason E. Geno, Essexville Garber

Jeffrey John Gregory, Kingsford

Nathaniel Ferris Iveson, Middleville Thornapple Kellogg

Andrew Kelley, Allegan

Nathan Kossey, Tecumseh

Joseph Longstreet, Hastings

Dan Macalka, Comstock Park

Dillon McCarthy, Whitehall

Jacob Mineau, Marysville

Nick Huston Parnell, Spring Lake

Caleb Pung, Portland

Craig Zebell, Dowagiac

Alan Zhen, Livonia Clarenceville

GIRLS CLASS B

Sara Marie Barron, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep

Kathryn MacDermid Bollman, Williamston

Julie Buursma, Holland Christian

Kristin Gilbert, Hopkins

Hannah Grischke, Williamston

Sarah Hartley, Birch Run

Emily Kendro, Spring Lake

Nathalie Kenny, Manistee

Keara Kilbane, Hopkins

Laurin Masnari, Three Rivers

Erin Moser, Midland Bullock Creek

Rachel Neumann, Flint Powers Catholic

Brianne Nowak-Scott, Tecumseh

Emily Oren, Hamilton

Miranda Scott, Charlotte

Kaitlyn Stevens, Ovid-Elsie

BOYS CLASS C

Zachary French, Ishpeming Westwood

Dakota M. Hard, Quincy

Jonathan Andrew Harper, Clare

Ryan Hook, Delton Kellogg

Kolby Lange, Marlette

Trevor Lewis, Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker

Gregory Long, Sand Creek

Sean McBrayer, Unionville-Sebewaing

David Powers, Jr., Michigan Center

Benjamin Rebertus, Negaunee

Dirk E. Stoneman, Breckenridge

Ryan Watson, Delton Kellogg

GIRLS CLASS C

Brandy Bowers, Springport

Cayla Broton, Hesperia

Emily Crick, East Jordan

Lauren Dietrich, Gobles

Megan Kangas, Norway

Rachel Leightner, Springport

Lena Madison, New Buffalo

Rachel McEwen, Marlette

Karley Sauder, Marlette

Elyse Ann Louise Starck, Morley-Stanwood

Kelcey Stauffer, Sandusky

Isabella Yzerman, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart

BOYS CLASS D

Evan Chalker, Buckley

Evan Dhyse, Kinde-North Huron

Seth Kintigh, Jackson Christian

Timothy Logghe, Peck

Joseph Nugent, Frankfort

Adam Plumstead, Frankfort

Sabeek Pradhan, Hillsdale Academy

Benjamin Ross, Lawrence

GIRLS CLASS D

Haley Buckey, Caseville

Kelsey Butcher, Morrice

Quinnlin Daily, Kingston

Natalija Galens, Watervliet Grace Christian

Haley Moore, Kinde-North Huron

Margaret Aileen Ryan, Hillsdale Academy

Jamie Lyn Seppanen, Eben Junction Superior Central

Alexandria Whitman, Fulton