Third round gains keep ’Cats on top

February 17, 2005

Scoring 4.5 points less in Round 1 than their
closest competitor, Meridian, Houghton Lake took first place at the Shake the
Room at Roscommon competitive cheer invitational Saturday with 641 points in
the Class A/B division. The Mustangs still received first place in their
division because they were judged in Class C. The Roscommon Bucks earned
second place in Class A/B behind Houghton
Lake with a score of
482.

Cheering with strong voices and solid Herkies,
the Bobcats earned 181 points in Round 1. They repeated the 181-point score
in Round 2 with back handsprings and back walk-overs.
The Bucks performed pike jumps in Round 1 and by the end of Round 2 had
earned 272.5 points.

During Round 3 the Mustangs successfully completed several elevators and
extensions, but allowed one flyer to fall all the way to the floor. The
Bobcats’ execution was solid (279 points), surpassing their previous
Round 3 scores that ranged between of 265.5 and 270.5.

“We doubled our requirements since last week,” Bobcat Coach B.J. Maass said. For example, instead of four back tucks, the
Bobcats performed eight and instead of four one-leg extensions, they
performed nine.

The green, white and gold Traverse City West team placed third in Class A/B
with cartwheels, splits and Herkies.

Four members of first-time competitor Rudyard drove down from the Upper
Peninsula to score a respectable 424.5 points in Class C behind Meridian.

Rudyard Coach Jessica Carriker, a student at Lake Superior State University,
said the school had had cheerleaders in the past, but they had never
performed in competitive cheer. In their Round 3 routine, they cheered they
are “new to the game and ready to stay.”

Houghton Lake JV
was the only team in the junior division and earned 498 points.

The five-team Michigan High School Athletic Association-sanctioned meet was
held in the afternoon following sideline competition in the morning in which
nine schools competed. First place winners in their divisions were Farwell Middle School,
Gaylord JV and Gaylord varsity, and Carrollton
varsity.

Meridian hosted
its own invitational Feb. 10. In Class A/B Mt. Pleasant placed first with 690
points, followed by Houghton
Lake with 612.5.
Midland Dow rounded out the division with 586 points. In Class C/D Meridian
scored 603.5 to take first over Ithaca
(515.5). In the JV division Mt. Pleasant placed first (573.5), followed by Dow JV
(549.5), Meridian JV (498.5) and Houghton
Lake JV
(486.5). Mt. Pleasant won the freshman division
with 443 points.

In sideline competition, Pinconning, Bullock Creek, Clio and St. Charles won in their divisions.

The Bobcats and the Bucks meet again Saturday at Cheer on the Lake Invitational
at Houghton Lake.

©The Houghton
Lake Resorter 2005