Refusing to Settle for Less Than Best, Stoney Creek Shines to Complete 3-Peat
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 6, 2026
MOUNT PLEASANT – It really hadn’t been Rochester Hills Stoney Creek’s year going into the MHSAA Finals.
The Cougars were the two-time reigning Division 1 champions, but they didn’t win their conference or their District or their Regional.
But on the biggest stage of all at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena, the Cougars delivered once again.
Stoney Creek, which entered the postseason ranked No. 5, used another clutch performance in Round 3 to “three-peat” as Division 1 champion with 789.94 points – once again barely edging neighboring rivals Rochester (789.52) and Rochester Adams (789.16).
“Things haven’t been going our way this year, but these girls never stopped believing in themselves,” said 23rd-year Stoney Creek coach Tricia Williams, who won her fifth Finals championship.
“They peaked at the state finals, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
It looked for a while that the Division 1 title might go to a West Michigan school for the first time since 2015, as Grandville held the lead after Round 1 and Round 2 before struggling in the final round and finishing fifth (785.56).
Brighton was also right in the mix in third place heading into the final round, but backed up a spot to fourth (788.58).
It was in the “money round” of Round 3, as has so often been the case in past years, where the three Rochester schools pulled away with their complex and more difficult routines – much to the delight of the rabid fan bases from each school.
Rochester posted the best Round 3 score of 321.80 to jump from fifth place up to second. Adams turned in a 321.00 to move from fourth to third place.
That just left Stoney Creek, going last in the final round for the second consecutive year, to see if it could do enough to hold off its rivals. The Cougars posted the same score as Adams, 321.00, to win by 0.42 over Rochester.
“I think the reason that we won today is because we didn’t win at Districts and Regionals,” said Stoney Creek’s Audrey Harvath, one of 13 seniors on the 26-athlete roster.
“We knew we had to keep climbing. We looked at each of our rounds in slow motion and tried to find every little thing that we could possibly improve, and that made the difference.”
Harvath was one of three returning first-team all-staters for the Cougars, along with fellow seniors Mia Badalucco and Natalie Marco.
Seniors Taylor Brandimarte and Kendall Keller and sophomore Kate Kacy were second team all-state last season, while senior Cassidy Niester and Isabel Williams were honorable mention.
It was not only the third-straight championship for Stoney Creek, but the eighth straight for a Rochester school and the 10th in 11 years – with Stoney Creek winning four and Adams and Rochester three each. The only non-Rochester school to win the title in Division 1 during that stretch was Sterling Heights Stevenson in 2018.
“At the end of the day, we are grateful to be in each other’s backyards because it forces us to keep getting better,” said fourth-year Rochester coach Samantha Dean. “What can I say, it came down to tenths of a point again. We can say we had the best Round 3 in the state, which is certainly something to be proud of.”
The three schools have battled each other for the last three Saturdays, with each of them winning a title – Adams at Districts, Rochester at Regionals and Stoney Creek at the Finals.
It was truly a bittersweet moment as those 13 Stoney Creek seniors lingered on the McGuirk Arena floor long after most of the fans had filed out.
The Cougars became the 13th competitive cheer program in MHSAA history to win at least three Finals championships in a row.
“Going for back-to-back was hard enough, and we knew trying to get three in a row would be even harder against some powerhouse competition,” said Harvath. “It obviously took every last ounce of energy that we had.”
Gibraltar Carlson Conquers D2 Again
March 2, 2019
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Nothing can slow down the Gibraltar Carlson competitive cheer dynasty.
The Marauders – who had won 10 MHSAA titles, including seven of the past eight in Division 2 – came into this season with a first-year coach and just three seniors.
No worries, as the young Carlson team notched title No. 11 with a powerhouse performance Saturday morning in the Division 2 Finals at the Delta Plex.
“We are motivated to keep the dynasty alive, for all the girls that came before and those that are to come,” said first-year coach Ann Hajec, who was a first-team all-stater on Carlson’s 2013 championship team. “We knew it would be close again with Allen Park, it has been all year, but we had enough in Round 3 to pull it out.”
Hajec said the emotions of the Finals are similar as a coach to those she felt as a competitor.
“The heart and fire I feel are the same, but I just have to put it into the girls,” said Hajec, who is assisted by Jordyn Hodge, Tam Christiansen, Emily Howard and Kourtney Tyra.
Carlson got off to a great start in Round 1, then clinched the title with a dominating Round 3, where years of tradition and great expectations came together in a powerful finish. The Marauders won with a three-round total of 791.40.
Pushing Carlson to greater heights, as it has all season and, frankly, the past four years, was Downriver League rival Allen Park.
While Friday night’s Division 1 Finals turned into “The Battle of Rochester” (with Stoney Creek prevailing over Adams), Saturday morning quickly became “The Battle of Downriver” between Carlson and Allen Park.
The Jaguars, who bested Carlson at the conference tournament last month, used the meet’s best score in Round 2 to pull within one point heading into Round 3, but were unable to take the next step.
Allen Park took second with 787.92, followed by Muskegon Mona Shores (777.92) and Dearborn Divine Child (771.94).
It marked the third time in the past four years that Allen Park finished runner-up to Carlson. Allen Park won the championship in 2017.
“We go neck-and-neck with them all the time, so this was nothing new,” said 14th-year Allen Park coach Julie Goodwin, who said the draw, with her team going first in the crucial third round, may have played a factor in the outcome. “Going into that last round, I told them to go out and have fun and do what they do. I thought we performed very well.”
Hajec became the fifth coach to lead Carlson to a Finals championship.
Carlson’s first title came in Class B back in 1995 under Pat Christiansen. The Marauders then won four titles between 2008 and 2012 under Christina Wilson, two in 2013 and 2014 under Danielle Jokela and then three in the past four years led by Aryn Ziesmer.
Carlson’s 11 Finals championships are second in state history behind Rochester’s 14 titles. Breckenridge is third with 10.
Carlson senior Summer Bojarski, along with McKinley Gessner and Kennedy Turner, are the only seniors on this year’s Carlson team. The future continues to be bright with seven sophomores and seven freshmen on the team.
“I personally have such a satisfied feeling right now because I know I did my job and kept the dynasty going for another year,” said Bojarski. “I wanted to show the younger girls that in order to win, you have to want it more than anything else. You have to love the sport, because that energy shows when you’re out on the mat.”
Bojarski is a returning all-stater from last season, along with sophomore Maguire Lindisch. Stewart, junior Sarah Klim and sophomore Alex Stewart all made second team all-state last year, and juniors Rylee Demers and Elliah Shank were honorable mention.
Cedar Springs placed fifth, followed by DeWitt, Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills and Walled Lake Western.
PHOTOS: (Top) Gibraltar Carlson performs a routine during its run to the Division 2 title Saturday morning. (Middle) Allen Park finished runner-up to the league rival Jaguars.