LF wins regional title,
hoping to win third state title in four years

By Jason Alexander, Sports Reporter

03/01/2006

Ashlee Latimer likes to keep her team focused.

The Blue Devil coach tries to keep the Lake Fenton
cheerleading team concentrating on what it needs to do instead of watching
other squads perform.

They took care of their business Saturday at Davison and won a regional
title.

"I don't watch other teams until we are all done," Latimer said.
"We try to focus in and look at ourselves. You might see a team and see
what they have and get nervous."

The Blue Devils had no problems Saturday as they dominated the three-team
field. Lake Fenton posted a scored of 300, a full
93 points ahead of second-place Dryden.

"Our hard work definitely paid off," said senior Whitney Peters.
"It meant a lot to me because we can do it if we try really hard."

Lake Fenton posted a solid score of 133 in
the first round that involves normal cheering with jumps and motions.

"I think we could have done a lot better, but we had some nerves,"
said senior Jamie Primel.

The team followed that up with a score of 167 in the second round that
includes tumbling, stunting, splits and jumps all put to music.

The regional crown qualified Lake Fenton for the 28th annual Michigan Cheerleading
Coaches Association State Championship Saturday at Saginaw Valley
State University.
The Blue Devils are no strangers to the competition. They won state titles in
2003 and 2004 and were state runner-ups last season.

"I think they are excited. We want to be first, who doesn't want to be a
state champion," Latimer said. "We haven't seen a lot of the
competition, a lot of teams are from the U.P, but we are going to concentrate
on what we are doing."

The Blue Devils have 17 girls on the team with the maximum being 18. They had
just 12 girls last season. The numbers help because the team can do more
stunt formations and sound louder and appear to have more energy.

"I am really excited to go back to state," said senior Heather Rosenbrook. "I think we are a lot better this year
than last year and I know we can do it."

The Fenton cheerleading team also qualified for the state meet for the fifth
straight year. The Tigers placed third in regional action behind Swartz Creek
and Davison, but were just 5 ½ points out of first place with 293
points.

"They did excellent. It's the best they've done all season," said
Fenton first-year coach Jennifer Gould. "It's exciting. We just have to
keep working and make sure everything goes."