PUBLISHED:
Thursday, February 04, 2007

No. 1 Oilers finish No. 1

By NATE SCHNEIDER

Sun Sports Writer

It is both an enviable position to be in and an unbelievably difficult spot
to be in, almost simultaneously.

The Mt. Pleasant
competitive cheer is enjoying its time as the top-ranked team in Division 2,
but also knows it has its work cut out as the school on top always has plenty
of competition hungry to reach that pedestal.

On Saturday at the Mt.
Pleasant Invite, the Oilers fended off all of their opponents and finished in
first place for Division 1 and 2 with a total of 717.3 points.

"It ws not the best we've performed all year, but we are
definitely pleased with the outcome," Mt. Pleasant
coach Kristi LaFleur said.

The fan support showed
up in droves for the Oiler girls, hoping to see the home team pull off the
victory and that is exactly what happened as Mt. Pleasant
put forth a tremendous effort in each of the three rounds.

"We have a great
crowd that comes to support these girls and the more energy they give to us,
the more energy we have on that mat," LaFleur
said.

From start to finish,
the Oilers showed a glimpse of why they are so highly regarded in the state
with everyone on the team displaying their talent.

LaFleur doesn't think the
ranking will affect the mindset of the team going forward into the most
important part of the season.

"This is a
position we've never been in before, but the girls have the belief that they
can compete and are just as good as anyone out there," LaFleur said.

Senior Katelyn Walters added that the home crowd was beneficial
in giving the Oilers an added boost.

"It's just amazing
and a really good feeling to hear everyone cheering and knowing they are here
to support us," Walters said.

With regionals also taking place at Mt. Pleasant,
fellow senior Alex Duke said it was important for her team to get an early
taste of what is to come.

"We did well and I
think we are ready for regionals. The judges that
were here today we will have for regionals, so we
made our first impression on them," Duke said.

According to LaFleur, the Oilers did their best work early and then
managed to do enough in the latter two rounds to achieve the win.

"We've got a lot
of work to continue to do, but I've got girls with great attitudes and that's
where it all starts," LaFleur said. "When
you come in wanting to do your best, that is all you
can ask for from these kids."