'Dogs,
Eagles contend at cheer regional

Article
published March 2, 2007

By Dan Strawser

DAILY PRESS & ARGUS

Hartland (above) is a favorite, along with
Brighton, in Saturday's cheer regional at Brighton.
Both teams are looking to qualify for the March 9 state meet.

Photo
by MARK A. DULL

Fowlerville coach Cindy Champagne said her team
(above) is in one of the toughest regionals for a
Capital Area Activities Conference Division 3 squad.

There is going to be some fierce competition
at Saturday's 6 p.m. Division 1 cheerleading regional at Brighton High School.

Fifteen teams will be
vying for the top two spots to earn a trip to the state finals.

"It should be us and
Hartland that go to states," Brighton
coach Kim Klaus said. "If either of us have a bad day though, we won't
be going. There are a lot of newer MHSAA teams in the region and they're
learning quickly. They're moving up the ladder. Waterford Mott will probably
be in the top three."

Hartland was fifth in the state finals last
year and Brighton was seventh.

All of the Kensington
Valley Conference schools except Novi will be at the Brighton
regional.

Fowlerville, which
competes in Division 2, will be at a regional in Mt. Pleasant.

"Hartland is one
of a kind," Howell coach RaeAnne Dumas said.
"Brighton is really good and South Lyon
has stepped it up a lot. It's definitely a good regional, a tough one.

"We're shooting
for third, but we'll take what we can get."

Dumas said her team
has been working especially hard for the regional competition.

"They've improved
so much since the beginning of the season," she said. "They've
improved dramatically. We're buckling down on everything and breaking down all
our routines."

The Pinckney
cheerleaders have been breaking down their routines as well.

"We want to have
a mistake-free round one," Pinckney coach Courtney Carruthers
said. "That's our goal."

While the first round
has given the Pirates difficulty, the second and third rounds have been
better.

"We're cleaning
up our skills in round two and making sure our round three is as strong as
possible," Carruthers said.

Pinckney didn't beat
any of the KVC schools in head-to-head matches, but the Pirates are looking
to make up for that.

"We want to prove
ourselves," Carruthers said. "If we place
in the top five, we will have beaten most of the KVC schools."

Like Pinckney,
Fowlerville has had trouble with round one.

"That's not our
strongest round," said Fowlerville coach Cindy Champagne. "That's
where we have to focus. If we can score well in round one, we'll be up there
with the contenders."

Champagne said her team is in
one of the toughest regionals for a Capital Area
Activities Conference Division 3 squad.

"Mt. Pleasant,
DeWitt, St. Johns and Mason are all there and
they're all ranked in the top 10 in the state," Champagne said. "They're stronger
than we are this year, but we're not far behind. We're hoping to be in the
top five."

The Gladiators nearly
beat St. Johns
earlier this year and they've been averaging 63 more points per meet than
last season.

"We've had over
600 points seven times this year and last year we only did that once,"
said Champagne.

The Division 1 state
finals are March 9 and the Division 2 finals are March 10. Finals for all
four divisions will be held at the Deltaplex in Grand Rapids.