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Prime-time preps

By
Susan Shanley

C
& G Sports Editor

Three cheers for
the Red Hawks! Troy Athens competitive cheer team places second at Cougar
Spirit Invitational

It isn’t just
the fact that the Red Hawks finished second at the big invitational Jan. 25
— it was the way they did it that was so impressive.

“We upped our
level of difficulty and still landed everything perfectly,” said
Stephanie Brosky, the Athens varsity cheer coach. “In the
second round, all 12 girls landed their back tuck (a first for the program).
We’ve been working on it for three years, and they just nailed
it.”

Rochester High won
the Cougar Spirit Invitational with 706 points; Athens had 671. Other top finishers
included Rochester Hills Stoney Creek in third place with 184 points, Lake Orion (fourth), and Troy
High’s team, which was fifth.

And there’s
no shame in finishing second behind Rochester.

Rochester’s team seems to rewrite
the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s record book every
year.  The Falcons lead the
state in most titles won with nine, the first coming in 1994 and the most
recent in 2005; during one stretch, the girls won five straight state
championships from 1999-2003.

The Red Hawks were
back in action Jan. 28 at the Lake Orion Invitational, where they matched
up against some the state’s top Class A teams. Athens
finished sixth in this event; Southgate Anderson was first, followed by
Grandville and Rochester.

The varsity squad
joined rival Troy and the rest of the
Oakland Activities Association squads in the OAA divisional competition
Feb. 6 and finished in second place overall behind Rochester. This is the fourth consecutive
year the girls have finished runner-up in the divisional competition.

Competing against
the area’s top teams on a regular basis is a great way for the Red
Hawks to stay sharp as the regional round of the state tournament fast
approaches. The top two teams in each region advance to the state finals.

The Athens and Troy
teams compete in regionals March 4 at Lake Orion
High. This particular region is one of the toughest in the state, as it
includes Rochester
and the host team.

“Basically,
there will be three or four teams battling for one spot,” Brosky said. “Rochester is really good again this year,
so it leaves the rest of us vying for second place and a spot in state
finals. We lost out to Lake
Orion last year, but
we made it to states the year before. It’s going to be a real
battle.”

With six talented
seniors leading the way, five of whom are three-year varsity veterans, Brosky said she
thinks this group has what it takes to get back to the state finals, held
March 11 at the Delta Plex in Grand Rapids.

You can reach Susan
Shanley at [email-masked]

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