Eagles
tops in cheer — Hartland, Brighton 1-2
in regional; state meet next

By Tim
Robinson

DAILY PRESS & ARGUS

Photo by GILLIS BENEDICT/DAILY PRESS &
ARGUS

As teammates Heather Mundt,
Kendra Hitchens and Kiley
Kaye watch, teammate Kristi Stajowski kisses the
regional championship trophy following Saturday's competition at Brighton High School.

BRIGHTON — Hartland won a competitive cheer regional title for the
third year in a row on Saturday.

For the second time in
three weeks, the Eagles nailed their final round routine to win it.

Hartland, which
rallied to win the Kensington Valley Conference crown a couple of weeks ago took advantage of both a strong stunt round and Brighton bobbles to win the title by just over 20
points, 696.5-672.3.

"It's exciting," Hartland senior Kiley Kaye said, "but we've still got a lot of work
ahead of us."

Both Hartland and
Brighton qualified for next weekend's Class A cheer meet at the Deltaplex in Grand
Rapids.

It's the fourth year
in a row Hartland has qualified and the second consecutive for Brighton.

Novi finished third and
Northville fourth. Howell placed seventh.

Brighton took the early lead
after the first round and held it after two of the three rounds.

"We did great in
the first two rounds," Brighton coach
Kim Klaus said. "I was very proud of what the girls did."

Hartland, meanwhile,
was just 6.3 points behind after a first round that showed signs of being a
work in progress.

"We had changed
some things," Hartland coach Paula Cunningham said of her team's first
round. "We had some mental lapses and timing issues."

There were neither in the third round, when the Eagles brought
their fans to their feet with a sizzling performance.

Afterward, Cunningham,
who directed her team from behind the scorer's table with the fervor and
drive of an orchestra conductor, pumped her fist and enveloped a well-wisher
in a bear hug.

Brighton, which had already
performed ahead of Hartland, had had a couple of stumbles in its routine,
more than enough to give Hartland the victory. The Eagles had 311 in the
final round, while the Bulldogs had 284.5.

"You can't open
the door like that against a good team," Klaus said.

To Brighton
junior Hailey Sugar, the round was an opportunity lost.

"We had a couple
of stunts fall," she said. "If we hadn't done that, we might have
finished first."

So, as it turns out,
both teams go to next week's state meet looking to improve on Saturday's
totals.

"We're just going
to practice the same things," Sugar said. "We want to nail that
stunt round, and we'll do that with practice."

Cunningham, who also
was named the regional coach of the year, was enveloped in more hugs after
the Eagles were named regional champions. Kaye said the announcement came as
a happy surprise, not assuming anything until the announcement was made.

"We don't watch
the other teams compete," she said. "We all knew we had given it
our all, and hopefully, that was good enough."

Cunningham stayed on
the floor long after most people left, savoring the moment and accepting
congratulations.

"No one loves to
win more than me," she said, beaming.

In all, 10 teams from
five regions will be competing next Saturday, and Klaus said it's one more
chance for those teams, as well as the Bulldogs, to refine and polish their
performances.

"All of us are
working for that day when everything is perfect," she said.
"Hopefully we'll have that day next week."

Originally published March 5, 2006