Sunday, March 6, 200

Sports

Patriot cheerleading squad breaks through

The Franklin Patriots captured the schools's
first Livonia Public Schools' championship trophy in competitive
cheerleading, Feb. 26, at Stevenson
High School, beating
out Stevenson and Churchill for the coveted title.

The
22-member varsity team swept all three rounds, scoring a 176.5 in Round No.
1; a 179 in Round No. 2; and a 287 in Round No. 3 for a total of 643, tying
their highest score of the season.

The
Churchill Chargers ranked second at the competition with a score of 611,
while the Stevenson Spartans scored a 587.5.

Earlier in
the season, the hard-working Lady Patriots won a small weeknight competition
at Whitmore Lake High School
by besting the other seven teams in attendance with a 643, including a
three-point penalty.

They also
placed second to Westland John Glenn in the Western Lakes Activities
Association competition on Feb. 12.

Though
happy with the crown, the Patriots are looking to step it up for the regional
competition, according to Amy Anderson, second-year varsity coach.

The top two
finishers at the (March 5) regional gain a bid to the state finals March 12
in Grand Rapids.

"They
made a lot of little mistakes at cities due to nerves," Anderson said. "If we can clean those
up before regionals, we certainly have a shot to place. This is a very young
team, and they have put so much drive and effort into this season."

Junior
Kristina Dubicki echoed those statements when she
posted on the team website: "Lets keep our heads
up, our attitudes positive and set our eyes on the goal."

Franklin's competitive cheer
team is graduating only five seniors this year: Captains Sarah James and
Shannon Craver, along with Jen Nowak, Ashley Gibbons and Lauren Yockey.

The rest of
the squad includes juniors Leslie Bacon, Kristina Dubicki,
Natasha Knox, Caroline Mosier, Lisa Opett, Emily
Sparks, Danielle Thomas, Rachel VanSteenis and
Jamie Vernon; sophomores, Sarah Carico
"Bitty," Emily Kramer, Ashlee Mucha, Sabrina Rumrill and
Nancy Smith; and freshmen Melissa Haapala, Ashley Geraghty and Tara Stoltz.