Rough path for cheer teams awaits on road to the DeltaPlex
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
The not -so-easy road begins for competitive cheer teams this weekend.
With all schools participating in the MHSAA Competitive cheer state tournament, now in its 18th year, the pathway to The DeltaPlex is anything but easy.
It doesn’t get any tougher than the Division 1 district at Troy Athens, which begins competition with four state-ranked teams. If those for schools get out, there will likely be two more ranked schools at the regional the following weekend at Lake Orion.
“It’s going to be really difficult,” admitted Stoney Creek coach Tricia Williams. “If we all get to the regional, then it’s going to be extremely difficult to make it to the state meet. That’s the goal.”
This year’s top 10 in Division 1 has been a revolving door all season. Yet four OAA Red Division teams — Rochester (No. 3), Rochester Adams (No. 8), Lake Orion (No. 9), and Rochester Stoney Creek (No. 10) — have all maintained a presence in the top 10 the past two months.
All have several top-10 finishes at various tournaments, with Rochester winning the OAA-Red crown this season and Stoney Creek winning the prestigious Lake Orion Invitational two weeks ago. n
Joining the above-mentioned teams in the Athens district are OA-Red schools Troy and Tory Athens, plus Clarkston, Royal Oak, Utica Eisenhower, Utica, Warren Mott, Waterford Mott and Waterford Kettering.
Troy and Eisenhower are the other two teams capable of an upset.
“It used to be that certain school expected to get to the state finals,” admitted Williams. Not anymore. It’s really tough to get out of your district and even tougher to get out of the regional. If all of the ranked teams make it through to our regional, they’ll be six ranked teams in our regional. That’s the toughest regional in the state.”
If Rochester, Adams, Stoney Creek and Lake Orion all advance to the regional round, then they’ll likely be joined by powerhouse teams Sterling Heights Stevenson and Southgate Anderson will likely be in the mix.
The top four teams from each district advance to the regional round and the top four teams from each regional advance to the state finals March 2-3 at the Grand Rapids-based DeltaPlex.
The difficulty of advancing in today’s arena of the sport — the MHSAA was the first state governing body to host a state tournament in competitive cheer back in 1994 — has increased steadily each year, as more and more schools add the grueling sport and the degree of difficulty is raised annually. That has not fallen on deaf ears by Rochester coach Susan Wood.
Wood, who took over Rochester’s cheer team back in 1982 when it was still a two-round competition hosted by the coaches association MCAA, saw her team qualify ever season from 1982 through 2010 only to see the Falcons’ run end in 2011 with a fifth-place regional finish. The Falcons own a state record 15 state titles in Class A/Division 1.
“It’s so different than it used to be,” said Wood. “The competition is so much greater. It keeps you on your toes. It also leaves no room for error (in the tournament). You have a bad day as a team, than someone else will qualify. It used to be that certain schools were so much better than everyone else that they could have a bad day and still make it. Not anymore.”
Elsewhere, Hartland, which took over the top-spot in the Division 1 rankings for the first time in school history, leads the group at the Novi-hosted regional. The Eagles are the only ranked team in the district, with North Farmington, West Bloomfield, Novi and Brighton amongst the top contenders.
NO ROOM FOR ERROR: Rochester Adams is one of four ranked teams in Saturday's Division 1 district at Troy Athens, leaving no room for error for all of the competing teams. File Photo | Dan Stickradt
Walled Lake Northern, North Farmington, Pinckney, White Lake Lakeland, Walled Lake Western and Howell also in the group.
At Davison, also a Division 1 district, there are no state-ranked teams. Oxford, the OAA White Division champion, should be among the leaders.
Bay City Central, Davison, Flint Carman-Ainsworth, Flushing, Grand Blanc, Grand Ledge, Midland, Midland Dow, Port Huron, Port Huron Northern, Romeo
Saginaw Heritage and Traverse City West round out the field.
In Division 2 at Warren Woods-Tower, Berkley, Birmingham Seaholm, Bloomfield Hills Andover, Bloomfield Hills Lahser, Hazel Park, Madison Heights Lamphere, South Lyon, South Lyon East, Warren Woods-Tower and Warren Fitzgerald make up the field. The two South Lyon schools should be among the leaders.
Host Ortonville Brandon, ranked fourth, is the favorite at its own district. The Blackhawks should be joined by Lapeer West and Lapeer East at the top, while Clio, Holly, Flint Kearsley and St. Clair in the mix. Bay City Western, Clio, Fenton, Flint Northern, Gaylord, Linden, Marysville and Swartz Creek will also compete in this district.
UP FOR GRABS: Rochester Stoney Creek is one of four teams entertaining thoughts of winning a district championship Saturday at Troy Athens. File Photo | Dan Stickradt
In Division 3, No. 5 Grosse Ile and No. 9 Brooklyn Columbia Central should be amongst the contenders, along with Clawson, Livonia Ladywood and Stockbridge. Birmingham Detroit Country Day, Flat Rock, Ida, Livonia Clarenceville, Monroe Jefferson, Onsted and Romulus Summit Academy are also in the field
There will be four ranked schools at the D-3 Capac district, including No. 1 Richmond, No. 3 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, No. 4 Armada and No. 8 Goodrich.
Algonac, Almont, Capac, Croswell-Lexington, Imlay City Macomb Lutheran North, Marine City, North Branch, Vassar and Yale all have their worked cut out for them in order to spring an upset.
The sole Division 4 district with Oakland County schools is at Memphis at the northern tip of Macomb County.
There are no ranked teams in this district, with county schools Clarkston Everest Collegiate, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest and Madison Heights Bishop Foley al in the field.
Brown City, Plymouth Christian Academy, Dryden, Memphis, New Haven, New Lothrop and Sterling Heights Parkway Christian are also in the field.
Competitive Cheer Rankings
(By the coaches association)
Division 1 — 1. Hartland; 2. Hudsonville; 3. Rochester; 4. Sterling Heights Stevenson; 5. Southgate Anderson; 6. East Kentwood; 7. Holland West Ottawa; 8. Rochester Adams; 9. Lake Orion; 10. Rochester Stoney Creek.
Division 2 — 1. Gibraltar Carlson; 2. Dearborn Divine Child; 3. Allen Park; 4. Ortonville Brandon; 5. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills; 6. Wyandotte Roosevelt; 7. Portage Northern; 8. DeWitt; 9. Holland Christian; 10. Byron Center.
Division 3 — 1. Richmond; 2. Comstock Park; 3. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep; 4. Armada; 5. Grosse Ile; 6. Paw Paw; 7. Otsego; 8. Goodrich; 9 Brooklyn Columbia Central; 10. Midland Bullock Creek.
Division 4 — 1. Michigan Center; Pewamo-Westphalia; 3. Merrill; 4. Munising; 5. Hudson; 6. Hart; 7. Shelby; 8. Laingsburg; 9. Gobles; 10. Iron Mountain.
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