Sports

Dragons take third at
their cheerleading invite

Lisa Valentine

The
team was tied for third place after the first round, eventually finishing
in third.

February 02, 2005 - Lake Orion varsity competitive cheerleading
coach Nancy de Avila said she was pleased and proud of her team after they
placed third overall in the Lake Orion Invitational, held on Jan. 29 at
LOHS.

"Our goal was to finish fourth," she said.
"We beat two of last year's state finals' teams. There were four of
them there."

De Avila said the varsity Dragons had a "great day,"as did all of the Lake Orion
teams from middle school level competition and up.

"The junior varsity team finished third, the
freshman team was second, and the team from Oakview Middle School
won the junior high competition," she said.

In the
Class A varsity competition, Rochester took
first with 701 points, Southgate Anderson was second with 674, Lake Orion had 667.5, and Troy Athens was
fourth with 656.

In their first round, the Lake Orion
team finished tied for third, with only one point separating second and
fifth place.

"It was a good start," said de Avila.
"After the second round, we were in fourth place. Our back tuck scores
were a little low, but our overall scores were up from (the Oxford
Invitational two weeks ago)."

De Avila said the Dragons "hit everything" in
the third round, finishing ahead of Rochester
in that round, but third overall.

"It was beautiful," she said. "I was
thrilled. They did remarkably well. They were very motivated, and the crowd
was great."

De Avila said her team was thrilled with their results.

"They were holding up their trophy like they had won
the state championship," she said. "We exceeded our third round
score from the entire season last year."

This weekend the Dragons will head to the OAA League Meet
in Berkley, competing against Rochester, Troy, Troy
Athens and Stoney Creek, who are new to
the league.

"Last year we finished third," de Avila said.
"I would like to see them place second this year.

"We have to stay ahead of Troy Athens to qualify for
the state finals this year,"she said.