High-flying success

Roseville cheer team earns
back-to-back MAC championships

By Sue Teggart

C & G Sports Writer

File
photo by David Schreiber

Roseville High competitive cheer performs a routine at a meet earlier in
the season. The Panthers took home the MAC Blue crown at the Feb. 3
league championship meet after winning a MAC Gold title last season.

For the second consecutive
year, the Roseville High competitive cheer team came out on top in their
Macomb Area Conference division.

The Panthers collected
724.839 points at the Feb. 3 Blue Division meet to pull ahead of the
competition by 16.5 points.

After winning the MAC Gold
title last year, Roseville coach Monica Gabriel said each
championship had its own meaning.

“They were both so
different,” Gabriel said. “Last year, we won even though it was
our first year competing.

“None of the girls on that
team had ever competed before, so that made it very special. This year, we
came up against tougher competition.  Being able to win when the
stakes were raised made this one special in its own way.”

Pulling out a championship
two years in a row showed Gabriel that her squad was full of hard working,
dedicated young athletes.

“They are very goal
oriented, and they are learning what it takes to achieve those
goals,” Gabriel said.

“They are very conscious
that we have a long way to go in comparison to some of the top teams in the
state, but they are willing to keep pushing themselves more and more every
day. They know that if they keep working hard, great things can
happen.”

Gabriel said this title was especially
rewarding for those that have been a part of the squad for the past three
or four years.

“Our season is so long,
that it is often hard to keep that same level of focus and
intensity,” Gabriel said of the November-to-March competition.

“Achieving this goal
two years in a row makes all of the hard work, all of the ups and downs,
very worth it.”

To ensure future success, the
Panthers have partnered with the Roseville Parks and Recreation Department to garner
interest from youngsters in their community.

“The team and I do a
lot of work with the Parks and Recreation organization, so that we can
start preparing the girls at a younger age,” Gabriel said. “We
host clinics, camps and coaching training sessions with them, and that has
helped tremendously.

“We still have a very
long way to go, and I am dedicated to helping this program become
stronger.”