Standing tall: Stoney Creek has master plan of defending first cheerleading state title

DEFENDING THE PRIZE: Rochester Stoney Creek broke through with the school's first state title in any sport last March, winning the Class A competitive cheer state title. Courtesy Photo.

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — There’s nothing like peaking at the right time.

Rochester Stoney Creek did just that in competitive cheerleading last winter, posting its best efforts on the final two weekends of the season. That is the goal again this season.

“I think we finally put it all together at the right time,” recalled Tricia Williams, Stoney Creek’s head coach. “We knew it was wide open last season. There were a lot of teams that were fairly close throughout the season.”

At the regional, Stoney Creek collected 805.4096 points, winning by nearly six points over Sterling Heights Stevenson and then-defending champ Rochester.

At the state finals, the Cougars did not have the highest total in any of the three rounds, but their consistency earned them 797.2064 total points and the state championship by two points over East Kentwood. Only six points separated the top four teams at last year’s state finals.

It almost wasn’t meant to be.

The Cougars barely made it out of the Class A districts last season — finishing fourth and only the top four teams from each district advance.

Stoney Creek made amends for that one off day, winning its first regional in school history. To top that off, the Cougars went on to capture the school’s first team state championship  — in any sport — by winning the Class A state title despite not being ranked No. 1.

Only the boys and girls soccer teams at Stoney Creek had come close in the past, and both finished as state runner-up in 2004.

“After that district, we were fortunate to get through,” said Williams. “I think we took the right day to (peak).”

Stoney Creek opened its doors in 2002-03 and it didn’t take long for the Cougars to establish themselves as a quality program. They have made the state meet each of the past three seasons and four overall.

“A couple of years ago, we were just excited to make it to the state finals,” said Williams. “Now we have big expectations. We expect to be one of the top teams in the state every year.”

Much like last year, Stoney Creek did not hold down the top spot in the rankings the whole season. Stoney Creek opened the year ranked fifth and eventually climbed to No. 1 in late January with a couple of invitational wins. The Cougars dipped to fourth after the Lake Orion Invitational Jan. 29, where the Cougars finished fourth, but the rankings more reflect each weekend’s results.

The Cougars are for real and baring a disastrous round, will likely remain in the top five heading into the championship season.

Stoney Creek has lived in the shadow of neighboring Rochester, which has more state titles than any other Class A school in the sport, dating back more than two decades, but now the Cougars are on the same plain — near or at the top of every invitational.

“The girls now believe that they can compete with anybody,” said Williams. “After winning it last season, I think that gave us the confidence. We now can tell the (newer girls) that it is possible.”

Stoney Creek is eyeing the big four meets — OAA championships, districts, regionals and state finals — which will take place over the next month.

The districts are Feb. 18-19, the regionals Feb. 26 and the state finals March 4-5 at the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids.

“The plan is to get back and try to defend our state title,” beamed Williams.

LAST YEAR’S CLASS A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

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Tags: Competitive Cheer, featured

Category: Prep Wraps, Rochester Stoney Creek