MOUNT PLEASANT – “The Rochester Invitational,” an event also known as the Division 1 Competitive Cheer Finals, proved Friday how a great rivalry pushes everyone to be their best.

The MHSAA represents schools covering more than 96,000 square miles in Michigan, but the Division 1 battle came down to three Rochester Community Schools all located within four miles of each other – Rochester, Rochester Adams and Rochester Hills Stoney Creek.

The teams have tussled at the Oakland Activities Association Red level, followed by District, Regional and Finals for years, with the difference between them often coming down to a tenth of a point, or less.

Rochester Adams won the Finals for the third-straight year in 2022, Rochester took the title last year and, appropriately enough, Stoney Creek led from start-to-finish and won Friday at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena.

“Today was our day, and it feels great,” said Stoney Creek senior Charlotte Cahill. “It’s so tough. All three of our teams have experienced the close losses and the wins. It’s three great teams, and it comes down to the little, tiny, minute details.”

Stoney Creek finished with a three-round score of 792.98 - good for a 1.42-point margin of victory over second-place Adams (791.56), with Rochester a mere two-tenths of a point further back in third at 791.36.

The Cougars captured their third Finals title, after winning most recently in 2019.

The competition was close throughout, with Stoney Creek holding the lead going into the pivotal third round, but with both Rochester and Adams less than two points behind.

McGuirk Arena was absolutely rocking with more than 3,000 fans as the three Rochester schools went back-to-back-to-back in the third round – first Stoney Creek, then Adams, then Rochester – to decide the title.

All three delivered nearly flawless performances, executing every stunt and basket toss with precision, with every flyer strong at the top.

“What you have to understand is that it’s not like this just at state,” said Stoney Creek coach Tricia Williams, who is in her 21st season. “We do this on almost a weekly basis, so we feel this same pressure and we get better at learning how to handle it. Today, our girls handled it wonderfully.”

Adams actually posted the best score of the three schools in the final round, which was enough to leapfrog 2023 champion Rochester for second place but not enough to overtake Stoney Creek, which was slightly better than Adams in both Round 1 and Round 2.

“There’s a lot of attention on Round 3, but it takes all three rounds,” explained Williams, who is assisted by Andrea Cairns, Kayla Kenan, Jessica Ma and Susan Wood. “Against this good of competition, we have to be as perfect as we can in every round.”

While some cheer teams check the standings between each round and possibly adjust their strategy accordingly, the Cougars absolutely do not look at the scores.

“That’s one of our values as a team is not knowing the score,” explained senior Abby DeGraw. “We don’t think it makes sense to change the way that we’re performing. We just try to do our best each round and let the score take care of itself.”

That strategy worked to perfection Friday, as Stoney Creek went out with wins at Regionals and Finals after finishing second in the conference behind Rochester and second at Districts behind Adams. The Cougars’ winning score of 792.98 on Friday was just shy of their season-best of 793.56, which was good for second place at Districts.

Seniors Alison Kalaj and DeGraw, both returning all-staters, are two of the leaders for Stoney Creek, along with Cahill (second team in 2023) and Ariana Rabaut (honorable mention).

Other seniors for the Cougars were Kacey Bauer, Gracie Darling, Sofia Finazzo, Lily Leone, Laura Machak, Helena Merritt and Jane Stabnick.

Adams, which took home the runner-up trophy for the second-straight year after a three-peat as champions from 2020 to 2022, nearly roared back for the title with the best Round 3 score (322.10).

“I would say that was our best Round 3, not only of the season, but in years,” said 10th-year Adams coach Brooke Miller, who had just five seniors and just one returning all-state honoree in Lily Hittle (honorable mention). “They nailed it. They couldn’t have done any more.”

Miller and Williams exchanged a hug after the awards ceremony, full of mutual respect, and both expect the three-way Rochester rivalry to continue for the foreseeable future.

“The bottom line is that these three schools are pushing each other to be amazing,” said Miller. “It’s tenths of a point that you’re fighting for, and that forces you to be the best coach and the best athlete that you can be.”

Hartland placed fourth, followed by Macomb L’Anse Creuse North and Brighton.

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PHOTOS (Top) Rochester Hills Stoney Creek competes during Friday’s Division 1 Finals at McGuirk Arena. (Middle) The Cougars celebrate their championship. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)