PUBLISHED:
Sunday, February 3, 2008

Oilers, Warriors prep for regional round

By NATE SCHNEIDER

Sun Sports Write

When its best showing of the day was
needed, the Mt.
Pleasant competitive
cheer team knew how to bring it home.

Down by two points heading into the third round, the No.
3-ranked Division 2 team in the Oilers shined their brightest at the end
Saturday in its home invitational as it overturned a lackluster start with an
outstanding finish to secure first place with 751.676 points.

It was not a perfect day for Mt. Pleasant
by coach Kristi LaFleur's standards, but it was
definitely good enough to send the home crowd away with a smile.

No. 5-ranked Mason placed second in Division 2 with 737.3
points, while ninth-ranked Gaylord took third at 695.5.

"It was the highest total score we have recorded this
season so that is something we are pleased with,"LaFleur
said. "We still need to clean some things up as we get ready for the
postseason but we are happy to get this win.

What specifically needs to be addressed according to LaFleur is the first round as it has been a stumbling
block for the Oilers in the past and it again got them off to a slow start
Saturday as their score of 216 put them behind in the standings.

"It has traditionally been a round that we struggle with so
that is the one we'll need to focus on the most in the upcoming weeks,"LaFleur said. From there Mt. Pleasant only
got stronger as four freshmen were among the group that put together a round
two score of 229.176 to pull the Oilers closer to the top and put the utmost
emphasis on the round three performances.

"Last year we had a senior-driven team and this year we are
younger and asking a lot of girls to step into new roles. Each week we are
getting a little better,"LaFleur said.

The round two showing was one that LaFleur
pointed to as helping give
Mt. Pleasant the win as
it is usually a strong round for the squad and this time was no exception.

"Round two carried us. In the past it has been a round that
we score well in and today it helped put us in a position to win,"LaFleur said. That set up the all-important
round three and the Oilers gave an ace performance to overtake Mason and post
the victory.

"Our girls have high expectations and the only pressure
they have is put on by themselves. We have a very
young team and the next two weeks are very big for us,"LaFleur
said.

In Division 3, the No. 1-ranked Chippewa Hills
squad started very strong in round one en route to winning with a total of
727.255 points.

A first round score of 230 gave the Warriors all
the boost they needed to secure the win.

"I was really excited for our round one score because that
is setting the bar where it needs to be as we go into the next few weeks,"Chippewa Hills coach Jenna Rudell said. "We made some changes to our routine on
Thursday and things are really starting to come together.

Mt. Pleasant
and Chippewa Hills continue its preparation for regionals
Saturday at it travels to the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids, which is a huge meet that Rudell calls the "mini-state championship.

"It is a huge meet for us and it will help us see where we
stack up among all the other top schools in our division. I am excited to see
how we look on the floor and I think we are really starting to turn the
corner with our material,"Rudell said.