Page 10 — Thursday, March 2, 2023 — The Hastings Banner
TK cheer ends seven-year state finals drought
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
They’re still getting better and there is one
meet left.
The Thornapple Kellogg varsity competi-
tive cheer team blew away its top score of the
season Saturday to finish second at its
MHSAA Division 2 Regional Tournament at
Kenowa Hills High School and earn its first
appearance in the MHSAA Division 2 Com-
petitive Cheer Finals since 2015.
“They were so in shock that I had to say,
‘are you excited?’” TK head coach Adrian
Nichols said after scores were announced
throughout the gym. “I had to legitimately
ask. ‘Are you upset that you didn’t win?
What is going on?”
“They were like, ‘no, we’re excited, but it
just doesn’t feel real.’ I feel like I say things
to them and they don’t always believe me, or
believe that it is possible.”
The Trojans stuck it in every round and
only an outstanding Bay City Western team
finished ahead of the TK ladies. Bay City
Western took the regional title with an overall
score of 776.36. TK’s final total was 772.
points.
TK had the highest round one score of the
day with 232 points, then added a season-best
round two score of 224.84 and a score of
315.8 in round three. Rounds one and three
were just off their season best point totals.
The Trojans’ back tucks in round two were
the best they’d been all season on the way to
a district championship and even a little bet-
ter at the regional.
“We made a small change after our tucks
[in round two],” Nichols said. “When they
throw it they hold it for two counts and they
don’t move, and then they stand up and con-
tinue. The initial stick and the hold just proves
that they can do it and they can do it well.”“The judges have time, they’re human
right, so they have time to watch the skill and
then watch that no one is literally moving
afterwards. That small change right there
benefitted us 100 percent.”
Mason and Forest Hills Northern are the
other two teams from the regional to earn a
spot in the state finals, which will be held
Friday at Central Michigan University’s
McGuirk Arena in Mt. Pleasant. The top four
teams at the two Division 2 Regionals Satur-
day will make up the eight-team state finals
which take the mat at 6 p.m. Friday, March 3.
Bay City Western had scores of 231.9 in
round one, 227.86 in round two and 316.6 in
round three. Those round two and threescores were the tops of the tournament.
“We absolutely wanted to win it. That was
our goal,” Nichols said. “I had the shoot for
the stars land on the moon mentality with that
one. We have only seen Bay City Western one
other time, at the TK Invite, and we beat them
there and we both got beat by Mason. Forest
Hills Northern was also in that at one point. I
think that they were bugged if you will that
they didn’t take it.”
“My kids are very much ‘you might get me
once, but you’re not going to get me twice,’”
Nichols added. “They kind of have that men-
tality, which is how they got here in the first
place.”
Reeths-Puffer finished fifth with an overall
score of 752.32, ahead of Cedar Springs
748.8, Plainwell 746.42, St. Johns 743.66,
Gull Lake 731.84, Northview 721.86, Sturgis
715.34 and DeWitt 688.82.
Thornapple Kellogg has finished as high as
fifth at the MHSAA Division 2 Cheer Finals
previously, and Nichols said that will likely
be the goal at CMU – a top five finish or
better. The MHSAA state finals are always
tough, and more often than not the regional
from the east side of the state sends the most
talented four teams to the finals.
Nichols was a member of the of the first
TK varsity competitive cheer squad to qualify
for the state finals in 2012. She is excited to
instill in these Trojans the mentality that they
should work and expect to be qualifying for
the state finals on a regular basis.
“I think now they understand all the work
is paying off,” Nichols said. “I have a fresh-
man, Payton Gater, and she says all the time,
‘nothing will matter when you’re holding the
trophy in your hand. Nothing will matter.’
She said that multiple times the day of dis-
tricts and we just kept repeating that today.
We didn’t run away with the trophy, but it
was close enough and we’re going [to the
state finals].”record in the 100-yard breaststroke with his
fourth-place time of 1:06.20.
“It was amazing,” Hastings assistant coach
Judge Mike Schipper said. “You couldn’t
have scripted it any better. The score in the
meet went back-and-forth between us and
Ottawa Hills. We broke three school records.
We won the meet with only winning one
event which truly demonstrates a team win. I
think every swimmer except for one scored at
least a point. And we won the final event, the
400 relay, in one of the most amazing excit-
ing races I’ve ever seen.”
He has seen a lot of races over the years
between coaching with the high school co-op,
leading the area Hammerheads Swim Club
and watching his own kids compete.
The Barracuda team of Kensington, Shults,
Pacillo and junior Blake Barnum placed sec-
ond in the 200-yard freestyle relay in a team
record time of 1:32.30, just 31 hundredths of
a second behind the winning Wayland four-
some in that relay.
“It was just fun to watch,” Bultema said.
“You yell and scream and hoot and holler and
jump up and down and it’s just fun. We knew
going in there were going to be a lot of great
races this weekend. We had a lot of kids that
stepped up and moved up a couple places this
weekend.
“Team records were a little extra icing on
the top of the cake.”
Bultema said there wasn’t any talk of
breaking school records heading into the two-
day conference meet – just personal records
and the team had plenty of those.
Depth was key for the Barracudas. They
weren’t the fastest very often, but they came
at the Wildcats and Bengals in waves. Way-
land was third in the final standings despite
winning eight events. Grand Rapids Union
had two wins on the day.
It was a different foursome earning the
Barracudas’ first points of the meet. The team
of sophomore Hunter Tietz, Jan-Id, Barnum
and senior Mason Cross placed third behind
Wayland and Ottawa Hills in the 200-yard
medley relay with a time of 1:54.53.
Throughout the day the Barracuda team
also got points from seniors Evin Lamance,
Isaiah Randall, Isaac Stanton, juniors Mason
Bailey, Heath Hays and Luca Perotti, sopho-
mores Donald Kuck and Nolan Send and
freshman Ethan Magnuson.
Wayland senior Zachery Jenison had a big
day. He set a new pool and conference recordin winning the 100-yard breaststroke in 57.
and he won the 200-yard individual medley
in 1:58.03. Both of those times were good
enough to qualify him for the MHSAA Divi-
sion 3 Lower Peninsula Boys’ Swimming and
Diving Championship later this month. It was
a fast breaststroke race. Jan-Id has his
record-setting performance. The Barracuda
team also had Hays fifth in 1:09.69 in the
finals of that race.
Jan-Id and fellow exchange student Perotti,
from Brazil, were big additions for the Barra-
cuda team when they joined the program in
January.
Coach Bultema said a number of guys had
great swims. Perotti moved up a couple spots
from his seeding in the 100-yard freestyle.
Lamance did that in a pair of events. Hays’
breaststroke finish had him a couple of spots
in that race too.
The freestyle sprints were a couple of the
best events for the Barracudas. The Wayland
junior Oudbier won the 50-yard freestyle in
22.55 seconds and the 100-yard freestyle in
49.27 – besting the Division 3 state qualify-
ing marks in both those events. Kensington
was the runner-up in both those races. He
finished the 50 in 22.94 and the 100 in 50.31.
In the 50 freestyle, the Barracuda team also
had Barnum seventh in 24.20 and Riordan
eighth in 24.59. Top eight medalists in the
100 freestyle for the Barracuda team also
included Pacillo who was third in 52.12.
Kensington and Shults were the two Barra-
cuda captains this winter. Shults had a couple
runner-up finishes of his own. He was second
in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of
5:19.20. Wayland’s Williamson won that race
with a D3 state qualifying time of 5:09.79.
Shults’ teammate Send was fifth in that one in
5:38.92.
Shults was also second in the 200-yard
freestyle with a time of 1:54.12, which was
one of the Barracudas’ best events. Cross was
fourth in 2:003.9 and Send eighth in 2:02.48.
That 200 freestyle was one of the four
events that the Wayland Wildcats didn’t win.
Union junior Caileb Austin won that race in
1:50.75. He later took the victory in the 100-
yard butterfly with a time of 54.65. Cross was
seventh in that race for Barry County with a
time of 1:01.88.
Austin’s sophomore teammate Major
Vance won the diving competition with a
score of 267.95 points. Barnum and Magnu-
son worked throughout the winter to contrib-ute for the Barracudas in that event and while
they placed seventh and eighth respectively
in a field of eight divers those performances
earned 23 points for the Barry County team.
Barnum had a score of 165.30 and Magnuson
148.45. Every point was an important one in
a meet decided by 15.5 points in the end.
Williamson won the 100-yard backstroke
for Wayland in 56.98 seconds, but that was
another event where the Barracudas out-
scored everyone with their depth. Pacillo was
third in 1:01.69, Tietz fourth in 1:01.91 and
Kuck sixth in 1:05.42.
The Wildcats, who compete in the Division
3 state competition, had a handful of state
qualifying performances including in all three
relay races. They got one in the first race with
the 200-yard medley relay team of William-
son, Jenison, Rose and Eddie Oudbier win-
ning in 1:41.61. The Wildcats bested the D
qualifying time in the 200-yard freestyle
relay with the team of Henry Oudbier, Travis
Koon, Ketchapaw and Jenison winning in
1:31.99.
Union’s Austin met the D1 state qualifying
mark in the 100-yard butterfly. With the
added enrollments of TK, Hastings and
Delton Kellogg the Barracuda team must also
meet the tougher Division 1 state qualifying
times to earn spots in the finals, which
according to nearly any of the member of the
program is a mostly insignificant negative of
brining the three schools together to compete.
“There isn’t one coach or one parent or one
swimmer now or probably in the history of
the program that thinks this is a good deci-
sion, yet it’s a decision that’s probably going
to be forced on us,” coach Schipper said of
the dissolution of the co-op with Thornapple
Kellogg by the Hastings athletic department
and Hastings Area School System Board of
Education.
Delton Kellogg and Hastings will continue
on with their co-op. Thornapple Kellogg High
School athletic director Brian Hammer has
been working find another high school swim
team to join in time for the TKHS girls and
boys to compete with next school year, but no
official plans have been announced yet.
The CERC has been the regular host for
OK Rainbow Tier II Conference Meets for
both the boys and girls since the Thornapple
Kellogg and Hastings districts teamed up
nearly two decades ago. So, the conference’
remaining teams will be on the hunt for a new
home for their conference championship.195260TOWNSHIP OF PRAIRIEVILLE
2023 NOTICE OF BOARD OF REVIEW
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Board of Review will meet at the Township
Hall, 10115 S. Norris Rd. Delton, Michigan 49046, to examine and review
the 2023 assessment roll. The board will convene on the following dates for
the hearing of appeals of assessments or taxable values, poverty
exemptions, parcel classification appeals and/or current year qualified
agricultural denials:Tuesday, March 7, 2023, 10:00 am Organizational Meeting
Monday, March 13, 2023, 1:00 to 4:00 pm and 6:00 to 9:00 pm
Tuesday, March 14, 2023, 9:00 am to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 pmAnd on such additional days as required to hear all persons who have
given notice of the desire to be heard until assessment rolls have been
revised, corrected and approved.APPOINTMENTS ARE SUGGESTED; letter appeals will be accepted
and must be received no later than 5:00 pm the Friday before the first
appeal hearing.Tentative ratios and estimated multipliers for 2023 are as
follows:
Agricultural 44.76% 1.
Commercial 51.54% 0.
Industrial 50.40% 0.
Residential 43.23% 1.
Personal Property 50.00% 1.Tentative equalization factor of 1.0000 for all classes is
expected after completion of Board of Review.Jim Stoneburner, Supervisor Prairieville Township
Kevin Harris, Assessor Prairieville TownshipPrairieville Township Board Meetings are open to all without regard to
race, color, national origin, sex or disability.American with Disabilities (ADA) Notice
The township will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and ser-
vices, to individuals with disabilities at the meeting/hearing upon seven
(7) days’ notice to Prairieville Township. Individuals with disabilities requir-
ing auxiliary aids or services should contact Prairieville Township by writ-
ing or calling.Prairieville Township Clerk
10115 S. Norris Rd.
Delton, MI 49046
269-623-BOARD OF REVIEW
MEETING SCHEDULE
THE ORANGEVILLE TOWNSHIP BOARD OF REVIEW will be held at the Orangeville
Township Hall, 7350 Lindsey Rd. Plainwell Mi. 49080 on the following dates.Tuesday March 7, Organizational Meeting - 4:00 pm
Monday, March 13, Appeal Hearing – 9:00 am to 12:00 noon & 1:00pm to 4:00 pm
Tuesday March 14, Appeal Hearing – 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm, & 6:00 pm to 9:00 pmThe Board of Review will meet as many more days as deemed necessary to hear questions,
protests and to equalize the 2023 assessments. By Board resolution, residents are able to
protest by letter, provided protest letter is received by March 13th, - 12:00 noon. Written
protests should be mailed to;
BOARD OF REVIEW
7350 LINDSEY RD.
PLAINWELL MI. 49080The tentative ratios and the estimated multipliers for each class of real property and
personal property are as follows;
Agricultural ........................ 45.09 % ............................ 1.
Commercial ........................ 48.08 % ............................ 1.
Industrial .................. 53.86 % .............................. 0.
Residential ........................ 40.77 % ............................ 1.
Personal ........................ 50.00 % ............................ 1.(ADA) Americans with Disabilities Notice
Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact the Clerk
at least seven (7) days in advance of hearing. This notice posted in Compliance with
PA 267 of 1976 as amended (Open Meetings Act) MCLA41.72a (2) (3) and with the
Americans with Disabilities ActContacts – Clerk – Mel Risner: 269-664-
Supervisor- Thomas Rook: 616-299-
195544BARRACUDAS, continued from page 9 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Thornapple Kellogg's Lydia Berg and teammates (back from left) Kenady Smith,
Monica Serrano Aguilar and Claira Kovich shout out from the mat at the start of round
one Saturday during the MHSAA Division 2 Competitive Cheer Regional at Kenowa
Hills High School. (Photo by Brett Bremer)
Thornapple Kellogg varsity competitive cheer coach Adrian Nichols (right) and
assistant coach Madelynn Lula get their team settled in for round two Saturday at the
MHSAA Division 2 Competitive Cheer Regional hosted by Kenowa Hills High School.
(Photo by Brett Bremer)Thornapple Kellogg freshmen Payton Gater (left) and Mia Hilton show off their TK
spirit during round two at the MHSAA Division 2 Regional hosted by Kenowa Hills High
School Saturday morning. (Photo by Brett Bremer)