PUBLISHED:
Sunday, March 12, 2006

Mt. Pleasant finishes eighth in Class A

By DREW ELLIS

Sun Sports Writer

GRAND
RAPIDS - Winning didn't matter, it was an honor
just to be nominated.

Mt. Pleasant High School's competitive cheer
team reached its season goal by making its return to the Class A state finals
after a year absence Saturday, as the Oilers finished eighth overall.

The Oilers scored a 682.1 total for eighth place, while Rochester won its MHSAA
record 10th state championship, finishing with 739.7 points, while Grandville
took second with 727.9.

"We came into today with the attitude that we were going
to try and compete with the best of the best and see what happens,"
Oiler coach Kristi LaFleur said. "Our goal was
to get to this point, and we did that. We were up against the best today and
we performed very well."

Mt. Pleasant got off to a slow start, scoring a
183.5 in round one, which placed it in ninth place.

The Oilers scored a 200.1 in round two to jump up to eighth
place, where it stayed after scoring a 298.5 in the final round.

"I truly feel like we performed the best we could in each
round," LaFleur said. "We worked hard
this week in preparation, and we came out and really did a good job."

Rochester prevailed with the
Class A title, despite trailing Grandville by seven points entering the final
round.

Rochester had a flawless round
three, scoring a 323.5, while Grandville had a drop late in its final
performance, costing it the state title.

Either Rochester or Grandville
has won the Class A state championship since competitive cheer began in 1994,
with Rochester
winning the last two and seven of the last eight. The Oilers hope to be at
that level someday, but LaFleur knows that things
need to get started sooner for that to happen.

"Teams like Rochester
and Grandville are working on timing drills while we are on the basics
because our girls don't have a junior high program," LaFleur
said. "Which really goes to show how far our girls
have come to get to where they are. But, until we get a younger
program going, we are still going to be behind teams like Rochester."

The Oilers end their season on a high note, as reaching the
state finals was the team's biggest goal for the season after failing to
qualify last season. Finishing eighth was just an added bonus.

"The life lessons that these girls are going to take away
from this experience mean a lot more than the scores that were on the
board," LaFleur said. "These girls really
bonded and came together on a greater level than just competition this
season, and they can walk away today with a lot of things to be proud of and
a lot of friendships that will last well beyond this experience."