Bobcat cheer squad closes in on record score

February 03, 2005

The Houghton Lake Bobcats bested their
competitive cheerleading score from last week, earning 657.5 to place first
in Michigan High School Athletic Association action Thursday. The five-way
meet was a first for the Frankenmuth Eagles who have never competed under MHSAA
competitive cheer rules.

Houghton Lake
trailed Meridian
after Round 1, 189-200.5 but by the end of Round 2, only a half-point
separated them from the Mustangs. The Bobcats surpassed their blue on blue
rivals in the third round by earning 265.6 points to Meridian’s 259 by
keeping their flyers up in their extensions and performing solid tumbling,
while Meridian struggled with its timing and back walk-overs.

The Bobcats’ Round 2 performance was the best she had seen it, Coach
B.J. Maass said, and that Round 3 had been
rewritten from last week in an hour. She said the girls are closing in on
their record score of 669.

Midland Dow’s 13-member team kept the leaders on their toes with solid
extensions, but did drop one of them, ending the night with a total of 638.
The Roscommon Bucks improved on last week’s score of 465, with 498.5
points.

After a 117.5-point start in Round 1, the Frankenmuth Eagles received
negative scores in the second and third rounds. Coach Jennifer Chandler said
despite having several cheerleaders quit recently, the remaining members
decided to make the hour and a half trip to Houghton Lake
and are “refocusing.” Making the transition from a
non-competitive squad to a competitive team was also difficult, she said.

“There’s a lot of little things to learn,”
Chandler
said.

She said she expects other teams in her area, such as Vassar and North
Branch, to enter MHSAA-sanctioned competitive cheer next year.

In the JV division, the Midland Dow Chargers took first place with 585.5
points. Houghton Lake and Meridian
placed, second and third, respectively.

In between rounds, the Cheer America All-stars,
coached by former Houghton
Lake cheerleader
Jennifer Hall, performed cheer and dance routines. The six girls are among 26
Hall was to take to state competition at the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids Saturday.

The Bobcats compete next on Feb. 5 in Harrison
at the Cheer at the Hive Invitational.