Sports

Cheerleaders qualify for state
finals

Colin
Baumgartner

March 08, 2006 - The competitive cheerleading team at Lake Orion
High School is heading
back to the state finals.

LO and Rochester
were the two teams to advance from the Region 3A competition held at LOHS on
March 4.

The team last went to the state finals in 2003,
but a restructuring of the regionals after that
season put the squad in the same region as perennial powerhouse Rochester and strong teams in Stoney
Creek and Troy Athens.

Rochester has qualified each year, with Stoney Creek and Athens qualifying in 2004 and 2005,
respectively.

Coach Nancy DeAvila said Lake Orion
felt it was their turn to move on to states.

"It's been a long term goal for us,"
she said.

Rochester finished with a 717.1 total score. LO's
692.8 edged Stoney Creek (683.6) and Athens
(670.1).

"There are 14 teams in our region and only
the top two qualify," DeAvila said. "After the first round we were
ahead of both Stoney Creek and Athens.
We were very comfortable with our position."

The second of the three rounds was not as strong
for the Dragons, as they finished behind Stoney Creek, but the team managed to hold on to second
place overall by the slightest of margins (1.2 points).

"We scored 300.5 points in the stunt
round," DeAvila said, noting that every team had their share of problems
in the final round.

The team then had to wait for Stoney
Creek to perform to see if they would advance.

DeAvila said it was a nerve-wracking time for her
team, but ultimately Stoney Creek was unable
to make up the difference, scoring just 292.5 in the final round.

"It was great to do it on our home
floor," DeAvila said. "There were great fans from all of the teams
and it was a really special day for us."

The state finals will be held on March 11 at the
Delta Plex in Grand
Rapids. Class A action begins at 10 a.m.