Team of the Month: Croswell-Lexington Competitive Cheer
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 14, 2023
The Croswell-Lexington competitive cheer team had finished fourth, fifth and fourth, respectively over the last three Division 3 Finals as this season began in November with more high expectations – but also the annual challenge of believing those could be attained.
Competing in the same Blue Water Area Conference as Richmond, the Pioneers are more familiar than most with the program that entered the season coming off a fourth-straight Division 3 title. And as a regular at Finals weekend, Cros-Lex also is plenty aware of the power of Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, the only other team besides Richmond to win a Division 3 championship between 2012-22.
But during the Pioneers’ first competition this winter, coach Katie Tomlinson knew this could be the team to rise above that history and make some of its own.
Cros-Lex finished fifth of 18 at the Jan. 6 Richmond Invitational, but second in Division 3 to only the host Blue Devils, and with scores including a D3-best 309.30 in Round 3.
“For our first competition, (we had) some of our best scores we’ve ever received – and typically our first competition is really tough for us. So that was kind of a turning point,” Tomlinson said. “Just the confidence they had that first night, competing for the first time, it was just a shift.”
That shift provided early momentum as Cros-Lex made one of the most impressive championship moves in any winter sport this season.
The Pioneers are the MHSAA/Applebee’s “Team of the Month” for March after finishing their season as MHSAA Finals champions in the sport for the first time, overcoming a 1.24-point deficit to Richmond after Round 2 to win the Division 3 title at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena.
Croswell-Lexington finished with three-round score of 776.72, seven-tenths of a point better than runner-up Notre Dame Prep and with nearly two points more than the Blue Devils. The Pioneers launched into the lead with a 314.50 in Round 3, the second-best score for that round in the competition.
“I think that it was such a shock for them in the moment and so exciting and rewarding,” Tomlinson recalled this week, “but it definitely was the work put in, just like every other team, and believing in themselves and just going out there and doing what we always do and what we’d worked hard for and what we’d put in that time and effort for – and just watching it pay off. It was kind of a mix of just really believing in ourselves – it’s been a challenge for a few years now building up that confidence to know that they are a team that’s worthy of a state championship and then proving that. They earned it.”
And it was truly a team effort. Cros-Lex had 28 athletes, and only one of the other 31 teams across four divisions at the Finals – Division 1 Grandville with 30 – had more on the roster. Of those 28, 22 competed in at least one round at CMU. Juniors Alexis Bales, Cora Katulski, Shelby Oliver and Makayla Rice and sophomore Carly Old competed in all three rounds, while seniors Noelle Golda, Santanna Horning and Emma Six and sophomores Larkin Krohn, Niah Krohn, Kaleigh Kelch and Addyson Sharpe competed in two rounds. Seniors Cassidy Seaman, Deborahann White, Maria Tabernero and Alleyna Martinez; junior Grace Hodges, sophomores Emma Yearkey, Madison Greenaway, Maggie Wallace and Addison Gardner; and freshman Chelsea Miller also took the mat.
Oliver, Katulski, Rice, Bales, Old and Kelch made the all-state first team. Wallace, Hodges and Sharpe made the second team, and Six, Horning and Golda earned honorable mentions.
Cros-Lex had finished second to Richmond in the BWAC and second to Notre Dame Prep at their District before finishing third to both at the Regional. The Pioneers had never finished higher than fourth at a Final.
“We are up against (Richmond) quite a bit and I’m super close with Kelli (Blue Devils coach Kelli Matthes) … and honestly, we enjoy going to the competitions that have those teams that have won on that stage,” said Tomlinson, who has been part of the Pioneers cheer program since seventh grade beginning as an athlete and including the last eight seasons as head coach. “It sure pushes us further to be better and keep improving instead of staying satisfactory.
“It does make it hard when you’re up against such powers for years where they take it every single year. It makes the girls second-guess themselves and their capabilities, so that was a big thing that we started back in June for sideline and tried since to implement every day – the confidence and the belief in ourselves that even though they’re great, we are too.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2022-23
February: Hart girls & boys basketball - Report
January: Taylor Trillium Academy girls bowling - Report
December: Byron Center hockey - Report
November: Martin football - Report
October: Gladwin volleyball - Report
September: Negaunee girls tennis - Report
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.