Sports

Dragon cheer
squad continues climb, takes third at home invite

Colin Baumgartner

The Dragon varsity
squad flips in unison during round two of their three-round routine. Photo
by Colin Baumgartner.

January 31, 2007 - Fifty-nine cheer teams competed in
seven different categories ranging from middle school through varsity levels
at Lake Orion High School
last Saturday.

The annual Dragon Invitational was again the biggest high school
cheerleading competition in metro-Detroit, with Grandville taking first and Rochester edging Lake Orion
for second in Division I varsity action.

"It was one of my best days in coaching," said Lake Orion
Coach Nancy DeAvila. "They responded well to the pressure."

The Dragons set team-best marks in both round one and round three, en
route to a total of 715.6 points.

Grandville scored a 735.5, while
defending state champion Rochester
finished with 720.5.

The Dragons gained some ground on rival Rochester, a team they placed second to at a OAA I Jamboree on Jan. 24.

"We lost there to Rochester
by 22 points," DeAvila noted. "On Saturday, we were behind Rochester by just four
points."

DeAvila said what really has her excited is that her team has not
"peaked" yet, meaning there is still room for improvement.

Their third place finish in a field that included six of the top-10
teams (according to last week's state rankings), has the coach thrilled about
the status of the program.

Both the junior varsity and freshman teams finished second to Rochester and all three Lake Orion
middle schools placed in the top-five, with Oakview taking first.

"I thought it was amazing," DeAvila said of the event.
"The day was terrific."

She said a dedicated parent volunteer event staff, led by Crystal
English, helped everything run smoothly.

"She really deserves all the credit," DeAvila said of
English.

DeAvila estimated a staff of over 70 people, including some student
volunteers. She noted that there were over 2,000 spectators in attendance.

"I've gotten so many e-mails on how well it was run,"
DeAvila said.

The team will get the chance to run another event on March 3, when
regional action comes to LOHS.

The state finals are the following week in Grand Rapids.

However, DeAvila said her team has their sights set solely on the OAA
I competition this weekend at Troy Athens.