PUBLISHED:
Sunday, February 5, 2006

Chip Hills knocks off No. 1

Warriors let competition know they're still
here

By DREW ELLIS

Sun Sports Writer

While Breckenridge and Mt.
Pleasant performed well, the story
of the day at the Mt.
Pleasant competitive
cheer invite belonged to Chippewa Hills.

As the No. 4 ranked team in Class B, the Warriors were looking
to make a statement Saturday, and did so by winning the Class B Division with
714 points, besting five other teams, including No. 1 ranked Chesaning, which
scored a 683.

"Our goal coming into today was to let people know that
we were still here," Warrior coach Jenna Ruddell
said. "We may have fallen in the rankings since Christmas, but we are
still here and we are not going away."

The Warriors opened strong with a score of 200 in round one to
take the lead from the start.

"Our round one was the key for us," Ruddell said. "We had our highest score we had all
season in round one. We had made some changes over the past few weeks and we
just really came out strong in round one."

In round two, the Warriors scored a 207.7 to hold a one-point
lead over Chesaning heading into the final round.

In round three, Chesaning scored a 276.4, while the Warriors
put out an impressive score of 306.3 for the win.

With Saturday's victory, the Warriors, who finished fourth in
the state last season, should find themselves up in the rankings and a
favorite for state champion.

"Certainly everyone has that goal of winning a state
title, but we need to take things one week at a time," Ruddell said. "I like where we are at right now, but
there is still five weeks left and we can't think that far ahead right now.
We have a tough regional that we have to get through as well, so a state
championship is far from our thoughts right now."

Breckenridge continued its flawless season as well Saturday,
scoring a 711 to win the Class C/D division, beating out Meridian, who finished second with a 579.

"Today was a good day for us, we got to work on some
technical things and work on our enthusiasm," Huskies coach Deb Gaines
said. "Today we got a chance to see how we performed against some of the
top teams in Class A and B, so that was good to see that we were right with
them."

The Huskies, who are ranked No. 1 in Class C/D and are looking
for their sixth state championship in seven years this season, scored a 190.5
in round one and a 214.7 in round two, which was the highest round two total
of any team in the competition.

Breckenridge finished the day with a 305.8 in round three to
take the title.

"We are not where we need to be if the finals were today,
but we are where we need to be at this point in the season," Gaines
added. "The girls are coming along very well and I think we just need to
tighten some things up and we will be all set."

Mt. Pleasant finished third in the Class A Division,
scoring a 688 total, while No. 7 ranked Rockford
was second with 692, and No. 2 ranked Grandville was first with 729.

"I think we came out a little nervous," Oiler coach
Kristi LaFleur said. "We didn't perform like
we could in rounds one or two, but overall I think we did okay. I know we can
do better, but I think we are coming along right now and I believe that we
are going to continue to get better."

The Oilers scored a 186.5 in round
one, a 198.5 in round two, and a 303 in round three.

Mt. Pleasant is hoping to get back to the state
finals this season, after failing to qualify last season. The Oilers got a good look at what they can expect if they
reach the finals Saturday, as Grandville was fifth in the state last season,
and has three championships in the last 10 years.

"Strong teams like Grandville have a very good program
that starts at the junior high level, which we don't have," LaFleur added. "Our girls come in as freshman and
have to start from scratch and learn everything about competitive cheer. So,
if we can get things started at the junior high level, I think that will
really benefit our program."