GIBRALTAR — It was a star-studded and tradition-filled group of programs for the 24th annual Pat Christiansen Memorial Classic competitive cheer meet at Carlson High School on Friday evening.
The competition is in honor of the late great Pat Christiansen, who jump-started the Carlson cheer dynasty back in the mid-1990’s to what it has become still to this day.Headlined by the host Marauders, half of the 10-team field on Friday consisted of past state champions who have amounted a combined 38 such titles between all of them. Among those locally on hand joining Carlson were the teams from Grosse Ile, Lincoln Park, Southgate Anderson, Taylor, and Trenton.
What was by and large a neck-and-neck race between the state’s two winningest programs in MHSAA history, the host Marauders from Carlson turned in their best score of the season but ultimately finished up to eventual top-scorer Rochester by night’s end.
Carlson finished the meet with a final three-round score 792.72, virtually one point back of Rochester (793.70). The 12-time state champion Marauders led all teams after two rounds of competition before the 17-time state champion Falcons took the lead with a dominant third-round performance (322.5).
After Rochester and Carlson, it was Grosse Ile (774.66) soaring all the way to third place out of the varsity field. Anderson (742.58) finished in seventh place just behind, followed by Trenton, (694.60), Lincoln Park (632.56), and Taylor (611.20).
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (762.22), Walled Lake Western (756.66), and Temperance Bedford (745.54) all finished consecutively in fourth through sixth place.
Friday was the fourth meet of the season and the second within the last week for Carlson. In fact, all three of the six Downriver area teams on hand all last performed the weekend prior to the Christiansen Classic.
It’s the second straight time that Carlson and Rochester have shared the mat for a meet. The Marauders back on Jan 10 trekked up to Rochester Hills for the annual Royal Rumble at Rochester High School, placing second only to the Falcons again in what was a field of nearly 20 schools.
Their final score from Friday was a new season-best for the hosts, who have improved on their meet scores each time out so far this winter. The same can be said of Grosse Ile, who put together strong second and third-round showings to pull away from Notre Dame.
A two-time state champion themselves, Grosse Ile a year ago took home hardware when they finished runner-up at the Division 3 state finals to Notre Dame, who collected its sixth state crown in the process.
Much like Carlson, the Red Devils have seen progression in final point total across their four meets this winter. Friday was also their third meet in the last 10 days after previously opening the season way back on Dec 12.
The other multiple-time state champion at the Christiansen Classic was Anderson, who three-peated in the D1 field from 2012-14.
The Titans saw a small dip in their final score from their previous time out back on Jan 10 (744.08). Both of their January outings, however, are roughly a 50-point spike from when they opened the season with the top score at the annual Huron Chiefs Christmas Classic back in December.
Friday at Carlson was just the second meet of the season and first in nearly a whole calendar month for Trenton, who was previously scheduled to partake in the annual Allen Park Invitational on Jan 10 but was a late scratch.
Despite the long layoff, the Trojans showed no signs of rust as their final score was more than a 40-point climb from their season opener at Wyandotte Roosevelt back on Dec 20. That was also the case for Lincoln Park, who prior to Friday also last competed at the Amanda’s Mission charity competition hosted by Roosevelt.
Albeit only their third meet of the season, Lincoln Park appears to be trending in the right direction in a big way as they have seen a 60-point surge from their first dress rehearsal at the aforementioned Chiefs Christmas Classic.
As for Taylor, the Christiansen Memorial Classic was also their second meet in less than a week. The Griffins made their debut at the Allen Park Invite the weekend prior.
