Rochester cheer team dominates regional
field for 18th straight time

BY DAN STICKRADT

STAFF WRITER

PHOTOS BY JOHN STORMZAND | STAFF
PHOTOGRAPHER

Since the MHSAA sanctioned the sport of competitive
cheer in 1994, Rochester has never lost a
Class A regional competition, including Saturday at Lake Orion.
The top-ranked and defending state champion Falcons motored to another
regional victory with 717.1 points.

JOHN STORMZAND | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Troy Athens' competitive cheer team wraps up Round I
Saturday evening at its Class A regional at Lake Orion.
The Red Hawks compiled 670.1 points to place fourth out of 14 schools, two
slots out of a state-qualifying berth.

PHOTOS BY JOHN STORMZAND | STAFF
PHOTOGRAPHER

After a two-year hiatus, Lake Orion
qualified for the Class A state championships. The Dragons advanced
Saturday evening by taking second place on its home mats at the regional
competition with 692.8 points.

Moving into one
of the state's deepest Class A regionals this
season, Oxford still finished seventh in the 14-school field at Lake Orion
Saturday with 619.5 points.

Rochester is like an automatic when it comes to
cheerleading. The Falcons have not missed a state final since 1982.

The string of
consecutive state finals appearances moved to 24 years Saturday evening at Lake Orion
High School as top-ranked Rochester won the
regional title for the 18th consecutive season, topping the 14-school field
with 711.1 points.

Lake Orion
was second with 692.8 points as the top two finishers from each region
advance to the MHSAA Class A state finals Saturday at the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids. Competition
begins at 10 a.m.

Since the MHSAA began
sanctioning the sport of competitive cheer in 1994, a three-round competition
has been held as opposed to the long-standing, two-round Michigan
Cheerleading Coaches Association tournament that dates back to 1978. Rochester has now won 13
straight regional crowns in the MHSAA tournament and 18 straight overall.

"I know we can do
it, but we have to be more consistent with our routines," admitted
veteran Rochester
coach Susan Wood, about defending its Class A state title. "We have 20
new kids on our team this year, but we do have nine returning state
champions. We have been inconsistent all year."

Rochester Stoney Creek
was third with 683.5 points to lead the pack of schools left on the outside
looking in, while Troy Athens was fourth (670.1), Troy fifth (644.2) and
Oxford seventh (619.5), as area schools took six of the top seven slots.

"I thought that
nobody was outstanding in any of the rounds, so we were lucky this year to
win," added Wood. "If another team would have been consistent, then
we might not have won.

"I hope we can
handle the pressure of a state final because for a lot of them, this will be
their first time."

Lake Orion advanced to the state
finals for the first time since 2003, when the Dragons finished up a run of
eight straight regional championships. The Dragons were moved into a
different regional in 2004 and finished fourth that year and third last
season.

Ironically, Lake Orion
finished just two points behind Stoney Creek
at last year's regional. Two years ago, it was Athens
that finished second, with Stoney Creek third and Lake Orion
fourth at the regional.

Athens, Stoney Creek
and Lake Orion were all honorable mention in the Class A polls this season
and have taken turns beating each other over the past three months at various
invitationals.

"We all knew it
would be close," offered Lake Orion coach Nancy
deAvila.

"I think we all
had some mistakes, nobody was crisp in all three rounds. Rochester
really wasn't threatened, but between us, Stoney (Creek) and Athens, we all knew it
would be close, just like the past couple of years."

The difference was the
first round when Lake Orion collected 186.5 points, followed by 184.0 for
Stoney Creek, 178.5 for Troy
and 177.5 for Troy Athens. Rochester
led with 195.0 points after the first round.

"I think the
first round was big for us, perhaps the difference," added deAvila. "We had a two-and-a-half point lead over
Stoney Creek after the first round and Athens
was back in fifth. All we had to do was maintain that and we did.

"Athens had a great third
round, but they were too far back to make a difference," deAvila continued. "We were third in the second
round and second in the third round to make it through. I'm so happy for the
girls, because they missed by just two points last year."

Rochester went on to post 208.1 points in Round
II and 314.0 points in Round III to win the tournament by 24.3 points. Lake Orion
posted scores of 186.5, 205.8 and 300.5.

Stoney
Creek, a fourth-year school which qualified in Class B in 2003 and
Class A in 2005, compiled rounds of 184.0, 207.1 and 292.5, but the Cougars'
third round was the fourth-highest score in the field and dropped them from
the hunt.

Troy Athens (177.5,
193.6, 299.), Troy (178.5, 182.7, 283.0) and Oxford (175.0, 179.0,
265.5) rounded out the individual rounds scoring for area schools.

Originally published March 9, 2006