Originally published February
29, 2008

Cheer
teams aim for states — Eagles, 'Dogs hoping for big day

By Dan Strawser

DAILY PRESS & ARGUS

On Monday, the final season rankings came out
for competitive cheer teams and Hartland was No. 4 in Division 1.

"That was nice to
see," Hartland coach Paula Cunningham said.

The Eagles are the
favorite to win the regional tournament this Saturday at Brighton High School.
Hartland has a young team this year, but the girls have risen to the
challenge.

"I feel they're right on track,"
Cunningham said.

The Eagles were fifth
at the state finals last year and Cunningham's aim is always to try and do
better than the previous season.

Hartland won its fifth
consecutive Kensington Valley Conference championship this year, finishing
7-0 in dual meets.

Cunningham said her
team had to make some changes to its third-round routine because one of the
girls suffered a pulled hamstring last week.

"I always tell
the girls, one teammate doesn't make the whole team," Cunningham said.
"They've pulled together and they'll be fine."

The top two teams in
the regional advance to the state finals and Brighton
is hoping to be one of them.

Brighton, also a young
team, finished second at the KVC meet and pulled into a tie for second
overall in the league with Novi. The
Bulldogs were eighth at the state finals last season.

"That was the
first time they really cheered as a team," Brighton
coach Kim Klaus said. "It was two weeks before regionals
and they finally understood what it was all about and what they're working
for."

Milford, Howell, Pinckney,
South Lyon and Lakeland will also be at the Brighton regional. Novi
is in the Wayne Memorial regional.

There are 16 teams at
the Brighton regional, including the Walled
Lake and Waterford schools.

"I haven't seen
all the teams," Klaus said. "But Clarkston and Waterford Mott are
the only other teams who've scored over 700 points."

Hartland scored 760 points
at the KVC meet and Brighton finished with
708 points.

"It gives you a little bit of
optimism," Klaus said. "But we're going to need good performances.
There's no room for error on Saturday."