Carlson wins 11th state title; Jefferson third - Monroe Evening News

March 04, 2019 at 06:19AM

New coach Ann Hajec guided Gibraltar Carlson to the Division 2 state title in competitive cheerleading.

GRAND RAPIDS — Ann Hajec was part of three state championship teams as a competitive cheerleader at Gibraltar Carlson (2011, 2012, 2013).

Then she captured two more titles as an assistant coach (2015, 2016).

Hajec found out what it feels like to win as the head coach Saturday when the Marauders rolled to their 11th state championship and seventh in the past eight years.

They won the Division 2 championship at the Delta Plex.

Later in the evening, Jefferson grabbed second place in Division 3, finishing behind Richmond and Pontiac Notre Dame.

Hajec is the fifth head coach to guide the Marauders to a state championship during their dynasty that started in 1995 under Pat Christiansen. Christiansen led Carlson to four championships, Danielle Jokela two and Aryn Ziesmer three.

The Marauders led after all three rounds.

They scored 238.2 points in the first round to grab a lead of 2.4 points over Downriver League rival Allen Park.

Allen Park had the top score in the second round to slice the Marauder lead to less than two points.

But Carlson easily was best in Round 3 with a score of 321.7 to finish with 791.4. Allen Park was second at 787.92.

The scores were not Carlson's best of the season because the judging at state was tougher. But Hajec said there is no doubt that this was the best performance of the year for the Marauders.

The dynasty shows no sign of ending anytime soon. Summer Bojarski, McKinley Gessner and Kennedy Turner are the only seniors on the roster. The Marauders featured 14 freshmen and sophomores this season.

Carlson's 11 state titles rank second in state history. Rochester holds the record with 14.

DIVISION 3

Jefferson scored 230.7 in the first round, 227.36 in the second and 315.6 in the third for a total of 773.66.

That was topped by Richmond with 787.42 and Notre Dame with 777.72.