January 31. 2008 9:43AM

Monroe gets in competitive spirit

By: Jeff Meade

-Evening News photos by MIRANDA HARPLE
Monroe junior Caitlynn Jones takes front row in a
drill during cheerleading practice. Monroe
has a competitive cheerleading team for the first time this season.

Evening News Photo by MIRANDA
HARPLE Monroe junior Kiara Sortor
perfects her split against the wall during cheerleading practice at Monroe High School.

Coach Ashley Wells
leads Monroe's
new competitive cheerleading team through a stretching exercise. At right,
junior Kiara Sortor
tries to get a leg up on the competition with her flexibility.

Cheerleading at Monroe High School got a little more
competitive this year.

For the first time since it became a sanctioned state sport more than a
decade ago, MHS has a competitive cheer team.

That's in addition to the sideline cheerleading squad that performs at Trojan
football and basketball games.

"They needed another girls sport when hockey was added for boys,"
explained competitive cheer coach Ashley Wells, a 2003 MHS graduate. She runs
a rigorous practice designed to get the girls prepared for four
regular-season competitions and the state tournament.

Wells was an MHS sideline cheerleader when the girls were allowed to compete
out-of-state. They performed in Jacksonville,
Fla., and just missed
qualifying to compete on ESPN.

"Sideline is kind of like the pep club. Competitive is more
hard-core," said senior Cari Osborne.
"Our practices are longer than the guy's basketball practices. They run
three hours or more, three or four days a week."

Monroe is one
of a number of schools that now has two varsity cheerleading squads in the
winter one sideline and one competitive - although there is some overlap.

The competitive squad is 21 girls strong. Eight of them also are sideline
cheerleaders for basketball.

A majority of the 21 cheered on the sidelines for football.

"I have practices as much as I can," Wells said. "Some of them
decided to drop sideline for basketball because it started affecting them
academically.

"Football cheerleading is more interesting. There's more that you can do
on the football field. In basketball, you're stuck in this little area.
There's very little you can do when you're stuck on the sideline."

Katelyn Wagner, Koren Burns, Mara Calabrese, Chelsi Diedrich and Osborne are
the only seniors on the competitive team. Burns is the only one who still
cheers sideline for basketball.

"I have cheerleading every day of the week except Sunday," she
said. "I wanted to quit (sideline), but I have a special bond with my
coach, Mary Rose McMullen."

But four of the seniors interviewed all said they prefer competing.

"Competitive is better because you actually get to do stuff," Burns
said. "Competitive gets you more in shape. It works you harder. You eat
a lot more in sideline (cheerleading).

Wells said the sideline squads did compete some when she was a student. Later
on, the Trojans competed for two seasons in the UCA (Universal Cheerleaders
Association), placing 18th and 26th nationally in their division.

But the girls say they're still having a hard time being recognized as
athletes.

"Cheerleading has never been big at this school," Calabrese said. "Even
when we had UCA style for two years, most people did not even know we had
it."

The girls have been in one competition so far and were disappointed with
their performance.

"They got their wake-up call," said Wells.

Monroe's next
competition will be Saturday at the Southgate Anderson Invitational.

Competitions consist of three rounds. The first involves cheering (motions
and jumps). Round two is tumbling and cheering. The third round is stunting
(girls in the air), tumbling and cheering.

Most of the competitive cheerleaders team had some
gymnastics training and some traveled out of town to be part of all-star
cheer teams.

While the girls are happy MHS has a competitive team, the seniors don't like
the Michigan High School Athletic Association style which is more regimented.
They prefer the glitzier, more dance-oriented UCA style.

Why do the girls cheer?

"It's something not many people can do," Wagner said. "I
didn't like certain routines in gymnastics, but I love the tumbling part of
it. That's something you use in cheerleading. And I love being in front of
the crowd."

Diedrich added, "It's one of the hardest
sports and it's the most dangerous sport for girls. People are getting hurt
all the time. You tumble, you do stunts, you dance, you
jump."

To introduce the school's newest sport, the competitive cheer girls hosted a
friends and family night that filled one section of the bleachers and raised
$1,000.

"When people actually came in and watched us, they were surprised what
we could do," Wagner said. "This is kind of a breakthrough for the
girls coming up."

The biggest challenge will come March 1 when Monroe competes in the Regional at Wayne
Memorial. The top two teams qualify for the state finals.

"I think we have a chance," Wells said. "It's definitely
something to work for."