Staying alive: Rochester, Lake Orion, Stoney Creek, Adams all advance from competitive cheer district

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

LAKE ORION — Years ago, it was almost assumed that the state powers of competitive cheer would have a clear path to the state finals.

Much has changed in recent times.

The state has expanded to four divisions and there is now a district round to go along with regional weekend, just to qualify for the state finals.

The road to the DeltaPlex, site of the state finals in recent years, is a little more  bumpy.

Four local teams had enough to keep their seasons very much alive at the Lake Orion-hosted Division 1 district Saturday. The four teams from each district advance to the regional round.

Rochester led the charge with its fourth straight district title, collecting a three-round total of 808.3256 points. Lake Orion followed closely with 806.2360 points, while defending state champion Rochester Stoney Creek (802.0768) and Rochester Adams fourth (792.1382) grabbed the other regional-qualifying spots.

Troy was the first team left on the outside looking in, finishing just a sliver behind Adams with 791.7992 points. Utica Eisenhower (782.2256), Troy Athens (765.6860), Utica (736.4992), Clarkston (729.4332), Waterford Mott (703.3066), Royal Oak (683.2136) and  Waterford Kettering (656.5014) rounded out the 12-school field.

It’s all about peaking at the right time for Rochester, which held the lead after Round II at the Division 1 state finals only to dip ton fourth overall — the school’s lowest state-meet finish since 1988, when the Falcons were fifth. Rochester has won four straight district championships and has goals of returning to the top three at the finals.

“(For those) who’ve seen us, we’ve struggled all year with our third round,” admitted longtime coach Susan Wood. “We just couldn’t put it together until last weekend (at the DeltaPlex Invitational). I think that carried over into this meet. We knew we had to put it together here. There are too many good teams.

“It used to be a lot easier. I think people used to expect the same schools to get through every year. Now it’s really hard just to get out of the districts,” added Wood. “You have one disastrous round and you don’t advance.”

Stoney Creek finished fourth at the district last season, before coming back to win both regional and state titles for the first time.

“It’s the time of year where you have to be on your game,” said Stoney Creek coach Tricia Williams. “There are so many good teams, even at districts. At least our district is very tough. To get to (the state meet) you have to fine tune all of the little things and try to get better than we were this week.”

Lake Orion coach Nancy DeAvila, whose team is a usual suspect in the state’s top 10 for years, felt that some quality teams felt did not even advance out of the district.

“There were 6-7 really good teams in our district alone. I felt there were seven teams here today that could have advanced to regionals. I thought this was one of the better districts in the state,” she said. “We knew going that we had one of the toughest districts and we do have the toughest regional. The focus this week was to clean up all of the little mistakes. You can’t afford any errors. The next week there will be just as many teams (with the talent) to advance to the state finals.

“At this point of the season you have to get all the way down to which direction the kid’s toes are pointing in,” added DeAvila, noting the difference between advancing and going home is extremely slim. “It’s really unbelievable. The teams are so much closer than what they used to be.”

One local team that will be making the trek to the regional round after being in the shadows of other state powerhouse teams in the area in recent years is Adams. The Highlanders edged Troy for the final spot after collecting a 316 total in Round III.

“We’re thrilled. It’s been very close all season with these teams. We had our best day today,” offered Adams coach Courtney Kezlarian. “I think it’s exciting for our community to have all three schools make it through. I’m beyond thrilled. We have another hard week ahead of us. I think it’s a great chance for us, but there’s no room for error.”

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DIVISION 1 DISTRICT

(Feb. 19 at Lake Orion H.S.)

FINAL TEAM SCORES — 1. Rochester, 808.3256; 2. Lake Orion, 806.2360; 3. Rochester Stoney Creek, 802.0768; 4. Rochester Adams, 792.1384; 5. Troy, 791.7992; 6. Utica Eisenhower, 782.2256; 7. Troy Athens, 765.6860; 8. Utica, 736.4992; 9. Clarkston, 729.4332; 10. Waterford Mott, 703.3066; 11. Royal Oak, 683.2136; 12. Waterford Kettering, 656.5014.

ROUND I — 1. Rochester, 232.9; 2. Lake Orion, 231.9; 3. Rochester Stoney Creek, 231.9; 4. Troy Athens, 229.6; 5. Troy, 228.9; 6. Rochester Adams, 226.8; 7. Utica Eisenhower, 225.6; 8. Waterford Mott, 220.0; 9. Utica, 219.2; 10. Clarkston, 217.8; 11. Royal Oak, 213.7; 12. Waterford Kettering, 192.1;

ROUND II — 1. Rochester, 254.0256; 2. Lake Orion, 253.8360; 3. Rochester Stoney Creek, 251.9768; 4. Troy, 251.6992; 5.. Rochester Adams, 249.3384; 6. Utica Eisenhower, 247.8256; 7. Troy Athens, 235.1860; 8. Clarkston, 223.5392; 9. Utica, 219.6992; 10. Waterford Mott, 212.9066; 11. Royal Oak, 201.7136; 12. Waterford Kettering, 200.1014.

ROUND III — 1. Rochester, 322.0; 2. Lake Orion, 320.5; 3. Rochester Stoney Creek, 318.2; 4. Rochester Adams, 316.0; 5. Troy, 311.2; 6. Troy Athens, 308.9; 7. Utica Eisenhower, 308.8; 8. Utica, 297.6; 9. Clarkston, 288.1; 10. Waterford Mott, 280.4; 11. Royal Oak, 269.8; 12. Waterford Kettering, 280.4.

Tags: Competitive Cheer

Category: Clarkston, Lake Orion, Prep Wraps, Rochester, Rochester Adams, Rochester Stoney Creek, Troy, Troy Athens