Magi return to state meet

By Jaymes MacDonald

Published:
Tuesday, March 4, 2008 7:59 AM CST

Members of the Colon competitive
cheer team, who won their third straight Regional title Saturday at
Climax-Scotts.

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COLON -
Colon’s competitive cheer team won the Div. IV No. 16 regional
championship held at Climax-Scotts Saturday, marking the third straight year
that the Lady Magi have worn the regional crown.

On its biggest stage this season, Colon
excelled and blew away a 13-team field with 676.51 points.

Finishing second was Bloomingdale, which scored a mere 617.452 points.

Colon’s victory earns them a
spot in the state finals, which will be held at the Delta Plex
in Grand Rapids
this Saturday at 6 p.m.

Making it to the state championships is not a new accomplishment for the Lady
Magi.

Colon qualified
in 2005, 2006 and 2007, finishing sixth, fifth and sixth respectively.

The Lady Magi will compete against Bloomingdale,
Michigan Center, Hudson,
Brown City,
Madison Heights Bishop Foley, Pewamo-Westphalia, Merrill, Iron Mountain
and Norway.

Colon coach Jayne Sabaitis
believes her team’s toughest competition will be Pewamo-Westphalia,
Michigan Center and Hudson.

In an earlier competition, Colon came out on
top of Hudson and finished a slim two points
behind Michigan
Center.

Colon, which has 10 girls on the
roster, has a small team when compared to teams of the past.

“It’s been good and bad. It’s harder because they
can’t do as many stunts. But they have formed a closer-knit team,
there’s more camaraderie,” Sabaitis
said.

According to Sabaitis, round two of the
competition, is her team’s strongest.

“They’ve really worked hard on their skills.
This is the round that helps us pull ahead,” Sabaitis
said.

The Lady Magi’s three skills, the back handspring, the triple splits
and the balk walkover, have a difficulty rating of 1.2.

Round three is the stunting round. Kayla Boals,
Alyssa Stoll, Paige Thornton, Danielle Walkup, Chante
Harris and Kaitlynn Tredway
are the team’s bases, Kim Wirgau and Rachel
Green are the two back spots, and Mary Grace Decker and Alisha Leitzke are the fliers.

Wirgau, the team’s
only senior, has been to the state finals four straight years and will be
relied upon to share her knowledge and experience with her youthful
teammates.

“She’s a great leader. Being the lone senior, she has done what
normally a group does,” Sabaitis said.

While fifth and sixth-place finishes in the state finals are great
accomplishments, Sabaitis hopes to see her team
hoist the first-place trophy this year.

“Our goal this year is to win it all,”
Sabaitis said. “We’ve worked extremely hard as a team. It’s
the best team I’ve ever had, but we’ll have to be perfect.”