Unstoppable

Rochester Cheer caps off undefeated
season with 12th MHSAA state crown

By Sue Teggart

C & G Sports Writer

March 12, 2009

The
Rochester High cheer team was
simply unstoppable this season, capturing league, district and regional
titles en route to the title it longed for most - a state championship. The
Falcons held on to their undefeated streak and capped off the season with a
first-place finish at the Division 1 state finals March 7 at the Grand Rapids
Delta Plex, collecting 811.2480 points and ousting
defending champion Grandville High.

Rochester coach Susan Wood said she had a
mix of emotions, between relief and excitement, when Rochester was called for first place.

"You
all of a sudden flash back to the entire year and you think, 'Wow, for
everything that we've been through, who would have thought we'd be the state
champions today?'" Wood said. "You're so excited, but you're also
standing there in shock.

Every
year is different. I just had to reflect back." It was a tight race to
the finish, with the Falcons leading the first round by less than one point
over second-place Grandville. After the second round, Rochester edged ahead by 1.81 points.

Wood said
she thought at the time that a perfect third round might be enough to clinch
the championship.

"We
knew we had a shot at winning," Wood said about the standings after the
second round.

"We
thought if everybody hits their round three, including us, we can barely pull
this off." "It wasn't a landslide," Wood continued, the
excitement still in her voice hours after capturing the title.

"We
won by five points, but really, the teams were great. It was awesome.

It was
scary." The Falcons posted a score of 323.4 in the third round, edging
Grandville (806.0352) by just over five points to reclaim their crown.

"It's
the best feeling in the world," senior Emily Kmiec
said about recapturing the state crown.

"We
won it my sophomore year, when we were the new girls on the team … and
this year, being a senior and taking back what was ours to begin with, is the
best feeling. We went out with a bang." Wood said with the way the
season was structured - a district round was added to the postseason and
helped narrow the championship field - this year's final really included the
best of the best.

"It
was the eight strongest teams I can remember at a championship," Wood
said. "Everyone was trying to win it and everyone could win it. There
were a lot of nerves and a lot of teams going for No. 1." Kmiec said the squad worked relentlessly for the past
eight months to have another chance at a state title.

"Our
drive and motivation pulled us through," Kmiec
said. "We accomplished everything we worked so hard for." Wood also
credited the Falcons' success to their dogged determination.

"These
girls were pretty persistent," she said about their work ethic and
drive. "They would do anything we asked them to do. They really stuck
with it. They're persistence was really something this year."
Altogether, Rochester cheer has won 17 state titles - five with the Michigan Cheer Coaches Association and 12
with the Michigan High School Athletic Association - under the direction of
Wood.

In
other cheerleading news: Rochester Hills Stoney Creek finished sixth overall
with 787.3672 points, and Lake Orion finished in eighth place with 783.6872
points.