Thursday, March 10, 2005

Daniel Mears / The Detroit News

Katie Ziegeler is co-captain of the
ultra-successful Rochester cheer team, a group of 25 young women that still
fights the stigma of not being considered athletes. This weekend, they will
get to realize the ultimate payoff for their hours of toil and sweat.

Unsung stars go for state title

By Angelique S. Chengelis
/ The Detroit
News

Throughout
Metro Detroit, at various times of every day, thousands of high school athletes
put their time in at the gym, the pool, the wrestling room. Usually in
anonymity, they push themselves, practicing for hours. Each individual has a
story, but they all share a common goal: Win "states."

The Michigan high school
state championships are not just about the madness of March basketball, which
grabs the headlines and packs the metal-bleacher gyms.

They
are about wrestlers Jonathan Baez and Willy Rodriguez, the first from Holy
Redeemer to qualify for the state finals, representing Detroit's only high school wrestling program.

They
are about the stubborn determination of gymnast Kacy Risner of Livonia Churchill, once told she would never
again compete after an injury. She is preparing for her fourth state
appearance.

They
are about the 25 young women on the ultra-successful Rochester cheer team who still fight the
stigma of not being considered athletes, even though the sport was
recognized in 1994 by the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

And
they are about Birmingham Seaholm's Dan Priestley, a
six-time individual swim champion who has diligently worked for a shot at two
more titles. His senior season has offered the added bonus of competing with
his younger brother, Morgan.

"When
you make it to states, that's a big deal," said
Rodriguez, a junior.

This
weekend, these athletes, and hundreds more, realize the ultimate payoff for
their hours of toil and gallons of sweat: State championships will be decided
in seven sports. This is the one weekend athletes from the little sports step
into the limelight of the big stage.

"It's
a real good feeling," said Rodriguez, 18, who moved here from the Dominican Republic
three years ago. "You feel good about it, because not a lot of people get
to do this."

Rodriguez
wrestles at 119 pounds, and Baez at 160. They begin
competition today at The Palace.

Baez, a
sophomore, said they have achieved their success in relative anonymity at Holy
Redeemer, which has sponsored wrestling for six years, the last two directed by
coach Jamar Whitfield.

"It's
not really a big thing at school," said Baez, 15. "It's a basketball
school, so they really don't know what this means because we're not basketball
players."

For
Whitfield, it is a dream realized. He grew up in Detroit and wrestled in club programs, but he
attended Detroit Mackenzie, which didn't have a team.

Whitfield
admits he is living vicariously through Baez and Rodriguez.

"Oh,
yes," Whitfield said. "I'm just so happy. I had to keep my dream
alive with them wrestling."

One last shot

Kacy Risner has faced the end of her gymnastics career before.
But she fought off that inevitability four years ago, defying a doctor's
prognosis after shattering her left elbow in gymnastics and undergoing
reconstructive surgery.

"The
doctor told me I would never be able to do gymnastics again," said Risner, who was injured as she was preparing to enter ninth
grade.

She was
back in the gym six months later, and competed within the year.

"I
definitely proved (the doctor) wrong," said Risner,
who began gymnastics when she was 3. "I was not ready to give up
gymnastics."

The
injury did eliminate Risner from ultra-intense club
competition. But she came back to compete the last four years for her high
school team at Churchill. She will make her fourth state championship
appearance this weekend, competing in bars and beam.

Injuries
have been part of Risner's career. She has fractured
both ankles and suffered a broken hand at the beginning of this season. She was
supposed to take four weeks off, but, of course, pushed on and competed.

"It
takes a lot to get to me," Risner said.

She
said she avoids thinking about this being the final competition of her career
because that is the one thing that just might get to her. Instead, she is
focusing on what the state finals might bring her.

"I
remember what it was like the first time I went to states, just as I do the
second and third times," said Risner, 17.
"This year feels exactly the same in some ways. I know I've been there the
last three years, but this year is more exciting because it's my last one.
Hopefully, I'll go out on a high note."

Swimming for
eight

In the
last three state swimming championships, Dan Priestley, an 18-year-old sprint
specialist headed for Stanford in the fall, has won the six individual events
he swam -- the 50 and 100 freestyles.

Just to
shake up things a bit, Priestley has decided to step it up a notch in this
weekend's championships at Oakland
University. He will swim
the 100 freestyle and 200 individual medley.

"That's
going to be a shocker," Priestley said of the individual medley.
"I've always been a drop-dead freestyle swimmer. But it's in the team's
best interest and mine, too."

State
titles might seem like a given for Priestley, but each year has presented
varied challenges. His freshman season was his first time swimming at that
level.

The
next year, he had the pressure of defending his titles three days after slicing
his foot open, and his junior year was the stage where he had to prove himself
for college coaches.

"And
my senior year is my one final hurrah," said Priestley, who carries a 3.9
grade-point average and plans to study engineering.

Being 6
for 6 in state finals, doesn't make Priestley an automatic to go 8 for 8.

"Right
before every race, I try to get really confident, but you can't go in there
with no worries, because there's always someone who is
going to swim well and come out of nowhere."

Links to the
title

After
cheer practice concluded early Tuesday evening at Rochester, a four-link construction-paper
chain was produced.

It had
been 70 links long at the start of the season, each link representing a day
toward state competition. After every practice, a different team member takes
the chain and says a few words.

It's simple now --
two days, two links left until the state finals in Grand Rapids, and it's all about the title. Rochester, with a roster
of 25, including 15 seniors, likes its chances.

After
all, since 1994 when the MHSAA made it an official sport, the Falcons have
reached the final round 11 times, winning eight titles. Last season, they were
third in Class A.

"They
have awesome chemistry, awesome work ethic and a lot of team trust," said coach Susan Wood, who focuses as much of her attention on
the character-building aspect of the sport as she does conditioning and
tumbling technique. "The ability is there. They've got what it takes to
win it, but... so do a lot of other teams."

There
are three rounds of competition, the final lasting two and a half minutes. It
is athletic and acrobatic, and synchronization is key
for the 16 girls competing on the floor.

The
girls acknowledge mainstream society has been slow to catch on that this is a
sport requiring gymnastic-like ability, and completely different than
"sideline" cheering during football and basketball games, but that's
OK with them.

"It's
easy to ignore," said senior co-captain Katrina Gettinger,
17. "We all know what we can do, so why get upset about it? We don't care
what other people think."

You
can reach Angelique S. Chengelis at [email-masked].