PUBLISHED:
Sunday, March 12, 2006

Cheer Champs

Breckenridge, Chippewa Hills win state titles

By DREW
ELLIS

Sun Sports Writer

Members of the Breckenridge High
School cheer team celebrate their gold medals at the
close of Class C-D state championship competition in Grand Rapids, Saturday. Sun photograph
by Dick Bolton.

GRAND
RAPIDS - At the competitive cheer state finals
Saturday at the Delta Plex, it seemed that the fans
were making more noise and cheering louder than the competitors.

Hundreds of fans from Mt. Pleasant,
Breckenridge, and the Chippewa Hills school district area flocked to see
their competitive cheer teams go after a state championship. The fans came
decked out in all sorts of attire, equipped with signs, face paint and
megaphones.

"I chose to come because I wanted to see the girls
win," Shauna Coon, a junior at Chippewa Hills, said. "I know they
have been working hard and I knew that a lot of the kids at school were going
to come and support the team, and I wanted to show my support too."

Breckenridge and Chippewa Hills brought home state titles in
their classes, while Mt.
Pleasant finished
eighth in Class A.

Breckenridge fans had an exceptional turnout, as parents,
students, former cheerleaders and other alumni showed up in force to watch
their Huskies win their third-straight Class C/D state championship.

"These girls work so hard and are practicing six
days-a-week," said Huskie parent Dan Leach,
whose daughter Sara is a member of the cheer team.

"People don't realize how much time and effort these
girls put in, but they really dedicate themselves to their performance and it
is great to see all that work get paid off."

Leach was one of many parents dressed up in homemade Huskie cheer T-shirts, while a larger number of former
cheerleaders were decked out in shirts saying "Deb's Posse" to
honor coach Deb Gaines.

While all the competitors on the day had to shake off the
nervous feeling of performing on such a big stage, the fans also had to deal
with shaking off jitters, especially the former Huskie
cheerleaders.

"This is a lot tougher to get through," Melissa Dayringer, a former Breckenridge cheerleader, said.
"When you are a competitor, you can control what happens, but as a fan,
you have no control and that just makes it really nervous. You just want the
girls to do well."

The Huskies won their sixth state championship in seven years
on Saturday, with the first coming in 2000, which Dayringer
was a part of. Since that first championship, the program has continued to
flourish, and continues to pick up fans, thanks to the work of coach Gaines.

"Deb has done such a tremendous job with the program, and
she has such a close bond with all her cheerleaders past and present," Dayringer added. "The girls that come back to watch
these events don't do it out of obligation, we just love the sport, and love
to be a part of the tradition. It is like a big family that we are all a part
of.

"When the girls win, it feels like it did when I won in
2000. You just still feel part of the team."

Aside from parents, alumni, and friends, Breckenridge was
supported by a number of people from the community with no affiliation other
than to cheer on the team.

"The fans are all wonderful and this helps the other
sports too, because it brings the fans together," Kathy Clapp, a bus
driver for Breckenridge Schools, said. "This is really a fun event and I
know how hard those girls work, and it is good to see how many people come
out and support them."

A trip to the state finals for the cheer team has become a
yearly tradition for the Huskies, and Gaines credits the fans for helping
build the dynasty that her cheer program has become.

"We have great fans and a great support group,"
Gaines said. "We have a lot of people that travel far and wide for us,
and I have my own group of alumni girls that support me so much that it just
brings tears to my eyes and warms my hear."