Stoney Creek claims third at D-1 state finals

Lake Orion finishes fifth, Rochester seventh; Southgate wins first state title

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

GRAND RAPIDS — A sport that was once dominated by a select few schools, competitive cheer has seen a changing of the guard in recent years.

For the fourth year in a row, a different champion has been crowned at the Division 1 state finals.

“It all goes down to who the judges appreciate more on that day,” said Stoney Creek coach Tricia Williams. “There are so many teams that are so talented that it goes down to that day.”

Southgate Anderson won its first state title with 816.6230 point Friday at the DletaPlex in Grand Rapids, breaking the state finals record. Hudsonville had 813.2976 points to finish second and Stoney Creek posted 811.3456 points for third place, sending three teams over the 810-points barrier.

Hartland, which carried the No. 1 ranking into the postseason, was fourth with 808.4680 points, followed by Lake Orion (807.540), East Kentwood (804.8888), Rochester (804.8586) and defending state champions Grandville (801.8552).

Stoney Creek found itself in seventh after the first round, but rallied to finish third overall. Less than six points a separated all eight schools following two rounds of competition (491.1032 down to 485.9888).

“We did a nice job coming back,” said Williams. “We were back a little bit after the first round, even though the scores were really close. We came back and held the second-best score in the she e second round and the fourth-best round in round III and that was enough to allow us to finish third overall. I’m pleased with that. We left our three best rounds out on the floor.”

Nobody shined brighter than Southgate Anderson on this night.

Southgate posted 491.1230 points through two rounds, ahead of Lake Orion’s 489.6440. Southgate was able to vault ahead for good with an impressive 325.5 points in Round III. Hudsonville was second in the final round (334.6) and Hartland third (324.90).

“Southgate had a great day,” conceded Williams. “We were three spots better than last year. This was our (fifth straight) year at the finals. We have been consistent.”

Lake Orion held the lead after the first round with 234.8 points, but could not remain in the top three overall. Grandville and Rochester were second and third, respectively, after the first round, but tumbled towards the back of the field in the final two rounds.

Rochester won the title in 2009, followed by Stoney Creek in 2010, Grandville in 2011 and Southgate this season.

Since the inception of the MHSAA tournament in 1994, Rochester owns 12 state titles, with Grandville winning five and both Stoney Creek and Southgate Anderson one title apiece.

Competitive Cheer

DIVISION 1 STATE FINALS

(March 2 at DeltaPlex, Grand Rapids)

TOTAL TEAM SCORES — 1. Southgate Anderson, 816.6230; 2. Hudsonville, 813.2976; 3. Rochester Stoney Creek, 811.3456; 4. Hartland, 808.4680; 5. Lake Orion, 807.5440; 6. East Kentwood, 840.888; 7. Rochester, 804.8586; 8. Grandville, 801.8552.

ROUND I — 1. Lake Orion, 234.8; 2. Grandville, 234.5; 3. Rochester, 234.2; 4. Hudsonville, 234.1; 5. East Kentwood, 234.0; 6. Southgate Anderson, 233.9; 7. Rochester Stoney Creek, 232.4; 8. Hartland, 232.2.

ROUND II — 1. Southgate Anderson, 257.2230; 2. Rochester Stoney Creek, 255.3456; 3. Rochester, 254.9586; 4. Lake Orion, 254.8440; 5. Hudsonville, 254.5976; 6. Grandville, 253.3552; 7. Hartland, 252.2680; 8. East Kentwood, 251.9888.

ROUND III — 1. Southgate Anderson, 325.5; 2. Hudsonville, 324.6; 3. Hartland, 324.0; 4. Rochester Stoney Creek, 322.6; 5. East Kentwood; 6. Lake Orion, 317.9; 7. Rochester, 315.7; 8. Grandville, 314.0.

MHSAA DIVISION 2 STATE FINALS

(March 3 at DeltaPlex, Grand Rapids)

TOTAL TEAM SCORES — 1. Gibraltar Carlson, 807.3944; 2. Dearborn Divine Child, 804.4592; 3. Ortonville Brandon, 783.4576; 4. Allen Park, 777.3220; 5. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills, 754.1648; 6. DeWitt, 753.3884; 7. Middleville Thonrapple-Kellogg, 748.9080; 8. Byron Center, 739.9488.

ROUND I — 1. Gibraltar Carlson, 234.1; 2. Dearborn Divine Child, 233.1; 3. Allen Park, 228.9; 4. Ortonville Brandon, 227.9; 5. DeWitt, 226.1; 6. Byron Center, 224.9; 7. Middleville Thonrapple-Kellogg, 223.6; 8. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills, 221.4.

ROUND II — 1. Gibraltar Carlson, 254.2944; 2. Dearborn Divine Child, 252.3592; 3. Ortonville Brandon, 242.3576; 4. Allen Park, 238.2220; 5. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills, 230.2648; 6. DeWitt, 228.5884; 7. Byron Center, 222.0488; 8. Middleville Thonrapple-Kellogg, 218.8080.

ROUND III — 1. (tie) Gibraltar Carlson, 319.0; Dearborn Divine Child, 319.0; 3. Ortonville Brandon, 313.2; 4. Allen Park, 310.2; 5. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills, 302.5; 6. Middleville Thonrapple-Kellogg, 306.5; 7.DeWitt, 298.7; 8. Byron Center, 293.0.

MHSAA DIVISION 3 STATE FINALS

(March 3 at the DeltaPlex, Grand Rapids)

TOTAL TEAM SCORES — 1. Richmond, 781.8380; 2. Comstock Park, 765.4852; 3.Grosse Ile, 763.4528; 4. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 763.2060; 5. Midland Bullock Creek, 731.3488; 6. Paw Paw, 730.8580; 7. Brooklyn Columbia Central, 727.5112; 8. Gladstone, 725.2200.

ROUND I — 1. Richmond, 229.1; 2. Comstock Park, 226.0; 3. Grosse Ile, 224.8; 4. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 223.3; 5. Brooklyn Columbia Central, 221.4112; 6. Paw Paw, 212.3580; 7. Midland Bullock Creek, 211.3488; 8. Gladstone, 206.7200.

ROUND II — 1. Richmond, 238.0380; 2. Grosse Ile, 234.2528; 3. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 230.4060; 4. Comstock Park, 226.1852; 5. Gladstone, 220.7; 6. Midland Bullock Creek, 220.6; 7. Paw Paw, 219.1; 8. Brooklyn Columbia Central, 217.2.

ROUND III — 1. Richmond, 314.7; 2. Comstock Park, 313.3; 3. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 309.4; 4. Grosse Ile, 304.4; 5. (tie) Midland Bullock Creek, 299.4; Paw Paw, 299.4; 7. Gladstone, 297.8; 8. Brooklyn Columbia Central, 288.9.

Tags: Cheer Competitive Cheer, Competitive Cheer, High School Competitive Cheer, Lake Orion Competitive Cheer, Rochester Competitve Cheer, Rochester Stoney Creek Competitive Cheer

Category: High School, Lake Orion, Prep Wraps, Rochester