Bobcats break cheerleading mark with 692.8

February 23, 2006

The Houghton
Lake varsity cheerleaders broke out
of the pack Saturday at the “Cheer on the Lake”
invitational. Not only did they break their 2004 competitive cheer record of
669 with a final score of 692.8, the Bobcats overshadowed Class A Oxford
(663.5) in the A/B Division.

“Wow,” Coach Amy Fornusek
said after the score was announced, still breathless from the excitement,
adding later, “At the beginning of the season the girls said they
wanted to beat the record of 669, which was reached a few years ago...It was nice
to have a performance like that at a home competition in front of our own
crowd. The fans were great!”

The Oxford Wildcats out-cheered the Bobcats in Round 1, 198-190.5, and by the
end of Round 2 had widened the margin to 394-382.8.

A costly error by the Wildcats in Round 3, however, resulted in a third round
score of 269.5. Oxford is armored with solid back tucks, back handsprings and
extensions, but one of the stunting groups let a flyer fall, causing a mouth
injury to a base, subsequently resulting in a breakdown of concentration. Houghton Lake was able to jump ahead in Round 3
with a score of 310. They “stuck” everything; there were no
falls.

“I thought the girls did a fantastic job. They performed better than
they ever have; they looked like they loved being out on the mat,” Fornusek said. “I was overwhelmed with their
enthusiasm and teamwork. We received higher scores in every round than we had
at previous competitions.“

Placing third in Class A/B were the Hemlock Huskies, with 427.9. Fourth
through sixth place, respectively, went to Roscommon (423.7), Kalkaska
(401.8), and the four-man Elk Rapids team (379.5). The Roscommon Bucks scored
121 in Round 1 and 98.2 in Round 2. Their third round score of 204.5 was
their best this season.

In Class C/D, the Munising Mustangs scored an impressive 669.9. The black and
orange scored 196 in Round 2, 189.4 in Round 2 and 284.5 in Round 3. Meridian placed second
with 591.5 points, and the Brethren Bobcats placed third with 545.5.

In the JV Division, Houghton Lake (525.5) placed second behind the junior Oxford squad (565). The
JV Munising Mustangs scored 461.9 for third place.

Coach Fornusek extended “a huge thank
you” to parents and workers that helped at the competition.

“We could not have done it without you!” she said.

Houghton Lake varsity heads to an invitational
in Breckenridge Saturday. Regionals are scheduled for March 4 at Chippewa Hills
High School, Remus, where both
Roscommon and Houghton
Lake will compete.