Falcons cheer up another state crown

BY JIM TOTH

STAFF WRITER

This one was
different.

Rochester's girls competitive
cheer team continued its domination in the Michigan High School Athletic
Association Championships Saturday in Grand
Rapids as the spirited Falcons outperformed the
10-team field to earn a record 10th Class A crown.

The Falcons chose the
rally route to claim this latest title, scoring a meet-best 323.5 in Round 3
-- for a three-round total of 739.7 -- to easily outdistance Grandville,
which finished second at 727.9. East Kentwood
placed third at 720.7, Southgate Anderson was fourth at 716.6 and Hartland
came in fifth at 714.0. Lake
Orion placed ninth with
677.8.

"It was very
different this year because we had a lot younger team and they worked really
hard to get to this point,'' said long-time Rochester head coach Susan Wood,
who has guided Falcons teams to 15 state titles in her 25 years of service.
"Plus, we never before had to come from behind to win and we did that this
year.''

The Falcons, with 19
first-year performers, found themselves trailing by a slim 220.5 to 200.0
margin after Round 1 and a lofty 423.9 to 416.2 mark after Round 2. But Round
3 was a different story as the youthful Falcons regrouped for one final push that
ultimately pleased Wood and assistants Ginny Ames and Liz Gibson.

"They pulled it
together late, and once it was in their minds they could do it, they just
went out there and left it all on the mat,'' Wood said.
"We had the highest number of new kids on this team (19) than we
ever have, and even though it wasn't a smooth year, they pushed harder and
figured it out. We didn't always look great at every competition, but we did
look great when it mattered most.''

Those Falcons
spearheading this latest feat included: seniors and two-time state champions
Cassie Clem, Michelle Durmisevich, Jenny Gibson,
Melisa Gilbey, Missy LaMotte, Dara
Miller, Nicole Seyburn and Katie Ziegeler; juniors Stephanie Chun, Carly
Green, Erica Hubar, Jessica Kuznia,
Shannon Marconi, Holly Mihelic, Lauren Murri, Breianne Thompson, Sarah
Tilden and Liz Vickers; and sophomores Katlynn
Cowling, Kelsey Doucet, Erica Hamling,
Liz Handler, Katie Hilbert, Paige O'Shea, Kelsey Smith, Chelsea Stange, Adrienne Szymanski and Alyssa Yamarino.
For Lake Orion
and head coach Nancy
deAvila, the ninth-place finish was certainly
something to build on.

"I couldn't be
more pleased. We had 35 kids that were (at the state finals) for the first
time," said deAvila, whose team last qualified
three years ago when the Dragons finished seventh. "I'm sure the kids
wanted to finish higher. But I told them that dreams have to start somewhere.
We gained a lot of valuable experience this year. Being on the west side of
the state, most of these girls had never even been to the DeltaPlex. They got
a taste of what it's like. This was step one for us.''

Originally published March 16, 2006