Michigan Center ends jinx

Sunday, February 04, 2007

By Jake Lloyd

During their third-round
routine, members of the Michigan
Center High
School competitive cheer team chanted,
"It's our time."

The Cardinals weren't
kidding around.

Saturday afternoon was the
Cardinals' time as they won their Michigan Center Invitational for the first
time. The past five years, Michigan
Center routinely placed
second or third in the event and watched a visiting school walk away with the
first-place trophy.

Not this time. The
Cardinals, ranked fourth in the state in Division 4, won the Class C/D
competition with a score of 686.5. Fifth-ranked Colon finished second with 673.7 points,
and Napoleon claimed the third-place trophy with 615.3.

"It's very nice. It's
been a long time coming," Michigan
Center coach Jessica Trefry said. "It's great to be able to win at home
and have your crowd there to see it and be excited for you."

The Cardinals led after
each round, but it was their second-round performance that set them apart
from the competition. They scored a 206.5 in the second round to boost their
overall score at that point to 400.5, the first time in Trefry's
six years as coach that her team has scored 400 or more points through two
rounds.

"When I turned the
page (of the score sheet) and saw 206, I was thrilled," Trefry said.

The Cardinals needed their
stellar second round, because Colon
is an excellent third-round team. Colon
outscored Michigan
Center 298-286 in the
final round, but the Cardinals' lead held up because they entered the round
ahead by nearly 25 points.

"I knew that (the
third round) is their strong point," Trefry
said. "I knew what we would need to get to keep our lead."

The victory was especially
rewarding for Michigan
Center's seniors, who
finally won their home event in their last opportunity.

"It was pretty
exciting, because we all worked hard," Tamara Wright said. "It kind
of encourages us to continue on and do even better."

Grass Lake
placed sixth with a score of 553.5, and East Jackson
was eighth with 548.2 points. Jonesville was 11th, Addison 12th, Vandercook Lake
13th and Manchester
14th.

Hudson won the Class A/B competition with
a score of 704.1. Onsted finished second with 681.4 points, and Columbia
Central was third at 624.9. Stockbridge placed fourth, Albion fifth, Western
sixth and Jackson
seventh.

Hudson, ranked first in Division 4,
usually competes in the Class C/D competition, but a conflict in the
afternoon pushed the
Tigers to the Class A/B morning event.