Cheer teams have just one
day to leave it on the mat

Thursday, March 1,
2007

BY DAN STICKRADT

STAFF WRITER

Oxford's been tired of
playing second fiddle.

This past
Saturday, the Wildcats finally rose to the top with its first competitive
cheer invitational title in hand -- Oxford won Saturday's Tigers Invitational
at Fenton -- and can now turn to the state tournament with a sense of
optimism and with a legitimate shot at advancing to the state finals for the
first time.

"I think
we have a shot at it. We're one of the top four teams in our regional,"
admitted Oxford
coach Alanna Stockley,
whose team is hosting the 15-school, Division 2, Region 8 competition this
Saturday at 10 a.m. "I think that (Lapeer) West, us, (Ortonville)
Brandon and St. Clair are the top teams by the scores I've seen this year.

"But your
never know. We have finished second almost every time this season. So now
that we've won an invitational, we hope that will give us some
confidence."

Oxford, which has never won a
regional title or finished in the top two to advance to the state finals, has
come on strong as of late.

"We've
never made it, at least since I've been around," said Stockley, who competed for Oxford during her prep days. "In the
past we were always with the bigger schools. We would go up against Rochester, Lake
Orion, (Troy)
Athens, Troy,
so we would just hope to be in the top-10 at regionals.

"Now that
they've (switched to divisions), we're facing schools more our size and we
have a chance. It's nice to be away from the bigger schools, " added Stockley.
"It's a lot different now. We really have a chance."

In one of the
final tune-ups at the Fenton Invitational, Oxford collected a three-round total of
656.2 points to topple the 14-school field. The Wildcats edged Davison
(652.0) by less than five points, while Flint Metro League champion Lapeer
West, which has defeated Oxford several times that past two seasons, finished
third at 637.0.

Oxford collected rounds of
185.0, 190.7 and 280.5, with the first tow round coming in first and the
third-round score falling in fourth but enough to still hold onto the lead
and overall title.

LAKE ORION REGIONAL

The Division 1
regional at Lake Orion, which kicks off at 3 p.m. Saturday, offers top-ranked
Rochester, No. 5 Lake Orion and Rochester Stoney Creek, honorable mention in
the polls, to lead the top candidates for the state finals, which will be
held March 9-10 at the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids.

Utica
Eisenhower, Romeo and Rochester Adams are all considered darkhorses
in the 16-school field.

"I think
that it most likely will be Rochester, Lake Orion
and Stoney Creek fighting for the spots, with darkhorses
mainly being Eisenhower and Romeo," offered Lake Orion
coach Nancy DeAvila. "Rochester is just Rochester. They seem to
be peaking at the right time again. As for us, I think our kids are ready. We
have 13 seniors, we're more experienced than a lot
of teams like Stoney Creek, which has only
one or two seniors. But when it's a one-day competition to see who makes it,
anything can happen."

Lake Orion will again be hosting
the region, which has a large assortment of new teams compared to the past
several years.

"They say
these things like home-mat advantage, but we still have to go out and
compete," added DeAvila, whose team has defeated Rochester a couple of times this season.
"As long as there are no major falls, than I think we can be right there . When you have quality teams (in you region), it
comes down to who is most prepared.

"You only
have one day to make it to the state meet," DeAvila added. "You
could be ranked for 12 weeks, then come to the regionals
and lose and not make it. It only matters what you do (at the
regional)."

BRIGHTON REGIONAL

Seventh-ranked
Hartland is the only school listed in the current top 10, although Brighton has made the state-cut in the past.

Many of the
teams in this region are in their first or second year in the MHSAA
tournament, including first-timer Clarkston. Other local schools include
Walled Lake Central, Walled Lake Northern, Walled Lake Western and West Bloomfield.