Oilers, Warriors win yet
again

By NATE
SCHNEIDER

Sun Sports Writer

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Stronger than ever.

That is the mantra the Mt. Pleasant High School competitive cheer team, ranked
fifth in Division 2, is living by during the 2009 campaign.

If it is any stronger than the Oiler team that competed last year at the
state finals, finishing fourth, there is a lot to look forward to over the
next month-plus.

Competing in front of the home fans at the Oiler Invitational Saturday, Mt.
Pleasant strung together three solid rounds to post its third victory of the
season in four meets.

The
Oilers, who were competing in Division 2, combined their first round of 224.6
points and a second round score of 239.25 to put them in position for a good finish, then completed the task with a 308.9 in the third
round.

That gave Mt. Pleasant a total score of 772.75, well
ahead of Gaylord’s second-place finish of 665.68.

“I thought we performed really well today in all three rounds,”
Oilers coach Kristi LaFleur said. “We were
hoping for a higher score in round three than we got, but our overall score
is pretty impressive.”

With its fourth straight solid finish and one more meet to go at the
DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids this Saturday, the Oilers are
showing they are poised to perhaps be stronger than any prior Oiler team in
recent memory.

“These girls are all working hard and are focused on the task at
hand,” LaFleur said. “That has been our
slogan this year and these girls all want to prove that it is true.”

Warriors looking to repeat

The ultimate goal is apparent in Chippewa Hills’ words during
its routine.

Not only are the Warriors the defending Division 3 competitive cheer state
champions, they are clearly eyeing more hardware next month by letting
everyone in attendance know that until it is snatched away the crown is still
theirs.

Chippewa Hills earned its fifth win in six times out Saturday at the Oiler
Invitational, notching the D3 crown by racking up a cumulative score of
749.1208. Chesaning finished second with 686.85.

Despite a new head coach in Krystle Downs, a 2004
graduate of Chippewa Hills, there has been no drop off in performance this
season as the Warriors have shown exactly why they have won two of the past
three Division 3 state championships while finishing second the other year.

“We are absolutely right on track with where we want to be,” said
Downs, who also gets considerable help
from assistant coach Jessica Simon. “We have a very strong round three
that allows us to always finish well.”

The third round surely qualified as a strongpoint again with Chippewa Hills
registering a score of 305.7 to go along with a round one of 225.3 and a
second round score of 218.1208.

Currently ranked third in Division 3, the lone time the Warriors have not
recorded a win was at top-ranked Comstock Park as they settled for second.

But with a big meet next weekend at the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids being the last obstacle before
districts, Downs is pleased with her team’s
standing as it approaches the stretch drive.

“I think we are right where we want to be. (Junior) Kristen Hixson was
great for us today, but really the whole team was fantastic,” Downs said.