Wildcats
cheer 2nd at FML tourney

Thursday, January 27, 2005

By Dan Stickradt

Staff
Writer

Oxford now has its work
cut out for it.

Finishing
second at the first of two Flint Metro League competitive
cheer competitions means the Wildcats must win the second tournament -
by at least 13 points - to defend its league championship.

Host Lapeer
West took honors the first time around Wednesday, topping the four-school
field with 632.5 points. Oxford
was second at 620.5, followed by Ortonville-Brandon (610.5) and Lapeer East
(554.5).

Lapeer West
trailed Oxford by two points entering the
final round, where the Panthers outscored Oxford 269-254.5.

"We
have our work cut out for us," said Oxford head coach Kristy Gibson-Marshall.
"We have to win by at least 13 points at the second league meet."

Oxford, the defending
league champions, edge Lapeer West 182-180 in the first round, and both
squads compiled 183.54 points in Round II.

"We
had some major surgery Friday at practice, changing things around in our
stunt round to try to make the degree of difficulty higher," offered
Gibson-Marshall. "We have to do something different to have a
chance."

The second
league tournament is scheduled for Feb. 9 at Lapeer East.

LAKE ORION INVITATIONAL

Dozens of
high school and middle school teams will be at Lake
Orion Saturday for the annual Lake
Orion Invitational, one of the largest cheer invitationals in Oakland County every season.

The
tournament, which will begin with the middle school, freshmen and junior
varsity teams at 11:30 a.m. Varsity teams in both Class A and Class B-C-D
will followed at 3 p.m.

Lake Orion,
Rochester, Oxford, Troy Athens and Livonia Franklin will be among the 11
Observer & Eccentric-area schools in the Class A competition, along with
Lapeer East, Ortonville-Brandon, Berkley, Hartland, Lapeer West and Southgate
Anderson. Farmington Harrison is one of the six schools in the Class B-C-D
competition, competing against Sandusky,
Pewamo-Westphalia, Chesaning, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and Howell.

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