Michigan Center Seniors Finish 4 for 4
March 1, 2014
By Dean Holzwarth
Special to Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Four years, four MHSAA championships.
Not a bad way to remember your high school career in competitive cheer.
Michigan Center seniors Paula Stone, Paige Rochefort and Sierra Sharrer always will have those memories after the trio helped their team win an unprecedented fourth consecutive MHSAA Division 4 Final on Saturday at the DeltaPlex.
The Cardinals recorded a three-round score of 745.12 and hung on to edge runner-up Merrill (743.12) by a mere two points. Hudson (734.52) finished a distant third.
Stone, Rochefort and Sharrer have been on the varsity all four years and contributed to each title.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Stone said. “It’s like everything you’ve ever worked for paid off. It didn’t really hit me until I got off the mat after Round 3. It just hit me, and I was like, ‘Wow’, this is the last time I’ll ever take the mat. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Michigan Center claimed last year’s Final with only one senior. A group of six seniors mixed with talented juniors and sophomores to produce another banner campaign.
The Cardinals won nine consecutive meets to cap the season.
“I really wanted it for this group of seniors,” Michigan Center coach Jessica Trefry said. “Three of them have been on the other state championship teams, and they are a wonderful group of girls. I wanted this for them so badly.”
The fourth didn’t come without a few anxious moments.
Michigan Center built a sizable lead after two strong rounds. However, a bobble during its Round 3 routine put the outcome in doubt.
“They did their jobs in Rounds 1 and 2, but we faltered a little bit in Round 3,” Trefry said. “It made me nervous.”
Rochefort remained confident that the Cardinals would still prevail.
“I had faith in my team that we could clean it up at the end, and I was so glad that we still finished strong no matter what had happened,” she said. “We pulled it together, and we didn’t let it define us.”
Trefry said the team’s work ethic and determination factored into this year’s success.
“It’s different every single year, but this group of girls were incredibly hard workers and very persistent with improving,” she said. “They were not afraid to be challenged, and I told them leading up to today that if you just go out and do your job like you’ve been doing all season, then you will win. I knew we had what it took.”
Merrill coach Courtney Schiller, whose team was making its sixth trip to the Finals, was equally elated with her team’s finish – the highest in school history at the MHSAA championship competition.
The Vandals, who had the smallest team in Division 4 with only nine girls, placed fourth the past two years. They finally got over the hump and into the top two for the first time.
“We’ve never finished this high so we’re very excited about that, and we’re very excited about how close it was,” Schiller said. “We were two points from a state championship. We only have nine girls and we’re always one of the smallest teams here, so to see these girls excel the way they did today was thrilling.”
Despite competing with only five girls in Round 3, Merrill delivered the highest score of the afternoon. A 298.1 put a scare into Michigan Center.
“We struggled a little bit at Regionals last week and came in fourth against teams that came in third and fourth today,” Schiller said. “To see them come out of a tough position at Regionals and come back from that today just makes me extremely proud. We wanted to have our best three rounds today, and we did.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Michigan Center performs its Round 1 routine during Saturday’s Division 4 championship run. (Middle) Merrill, here during Round 2, posted its highest MHSAA Finals finish. (Click for action and team photos from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Stoney Creek Edges Rival Rochester to Earn 1st Finals Repeat in Any Sport
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
February 28, 2025
MOUNT PLEASANT – Rochester High was “the team” for most of this season in competitive cheer.
But at the end, an extremely young Rochester Hills Stoney Creek team matured and improved just enough to prevail by a razor-thin margin in front of a loud and raucous crowd Friday at the Division 1 Competitive Cheer Final at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena.
The Cougars had only three seniors on a 30-athlete roster, but the youngsters handled the pressure of the big stage to win with 792.38 points, edging Rochester (792.06) by a mere 32 hundredths of a point.
“That’s why I don’t look at scores, because I know it’s going to be pretty much a tie between the three of us every round,” said Stoney Creek coach Tricia Williams, referring also to the third powerhouse team from the city, Rochester Adams.
“I just focus on trying to get every last tenth of a point that we can.”
The pressure was intense Friday as Stoney Creek had to go last in Round 3, after near-flawless performances from both Rochester and Adams, which meant that even a slight bobble or mistake would drop the Cougars out of the top spot.
Instead, the young team delivered an inspired performance of its own to win for the second consecutive year – the first back-to-back Finals championships for Stoney Creek in any sport.
“We loved going last in Round 3,” explained Williams. “These kids don’t mind that at all. These kids can handle the pressure.”
Adams placed third with 788.62 points, followed by Hartland (786.06) and Brighton (785.12).
Rochester, which had 10 seniors, won the Oakland Activities Association Red and District titles, before Stoney Creek surged past them at both Regionals and the Finals.
Rochester third-year coach Samantha Dean, whose Falcons had to go first in Round 3, thought her team’s powerhouse performance in the final round was enough for the title.
“We went for it this year with our creativity and challenging the girls, and I think our Round 3 was definitely the most difficult today,” said Dean. “We were able to execute it to perfection.”
Rochester was looking to get back to the top spot after winning in 2023. Adams, which placed third, had placed either first or second for the past seven years in a row.
Sarah Adams – one of three seniors for the Cougars and the emotional leader of the team – was overcome with pride after going out as a back-to-back champion.
“These girls mean everything to me,” said Adams, wiping away tears. “There’s so much that goes into what you see out there. We stay in our bubble and push each other and encourage each other.”
She also acknowledged that having Rochester and Adams in the same District – all three schools are within four miles of each other – is a daily motivation.
“It’s such a blessing for us to have each other,” explained Adams. “It’s a huge rivalry, but it draws the best out of all of us.”
The other seniors for the Cougars were Sienna Wills and Grace Perrera. Junior Natalie Marco was a returning honorable mention all-stater.
PHOTOS (Top) Rochester Hills Stoney Creek competes during Friday's Division 1 Final at McGuirk Arena. (Middle) Rochester High competes on the way to finishing runner-up.