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Eagles 3rd at State Finals
Eagles third at cheer meet
By Fred Costello
daily press & argus GRAND RAPIDS - Heading into the second round of Saturday's Class A competitive cheerleading state championship in Grand Rapids, the Hartland Eagles were in fourth place. That's when Coach Paula Cunningham told her team it was time to step it up. "I told them to stick it," Cunningham said. "I told them they'd never get a chance to do this cheer again or be out on the mats again this season. It was so great, but I'm so sad it's over." The Eagles responded with a fabulous final round and earned themselves a third-place finish with 708.5 points. Brighton finished eighth out of the 11 competitors, ending the night with 674 points. Rochester won its eighth state title, scoring a 742. Brighton coach Kim Klaus was equally thrilled with her team's performance. "We had our goals set at the beginning of the year and we accomplished them all," Klaus said. "Just being here is icing on the cake. I'm very proud of Hartland and there's been great support by both teams." After their final rounds were finished, the Eagles and Bulldogs gathered together in the stands at the DeltaPlex, a common scene when the Kensington Valley Conference rivals compete. The Eagles came out strong and were in fourth place after round one, while Brighton was tied for fifth. Rochester got out to a big early lead and never looked back. The second round was a bit rough for Brighton, as the Bulldogs encountered a few minor stumbles. Cunningham said she was happy with the way things turned out for her team this season. "The girls did a great job today," Cunningham said. "I thought our round two scores were going to be a little bit higher, but other than that it was great." Both coaches acknowledged a respect for the other's program. "To look over and see Kim standing there during the national anthem, that was awesome. Just to see her back out there on the mat." Klaus explained the mutual respect that the rival schools have for each other. "We wanted to help them in their quest for the state title," Klaus said. "We're very proud of them and it's nice to have that respect." Klaus said that a difficult second round hurt her team. "I'll use the word 'tough,' to describe that one," Klaus said. "That hurt us a little bit. But the first and third rounds were strong. This was the first time this group has been to the state meet and they did pretty good." Klaus also commented on the immensity of the DeltaPlex, compared to the normal high school gym. "I told them to just act like it was another high school," Klaus said. "There's so many eyes looking at you for that minute and a half, it can psych you out. The girls didn't let it get to them." Brighton tallied three-round scores of 187, 197 and 290, while Hartland posted 188.5, 213.5 and 306.5.
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Regional Competition
Pair of cheer teams in finals
By Rick Shepich
daily press & argus
There are 10 teams remaining in the Class A state competitive cheer tournament and friendly rivals Brighton and Hartland are two of them.
In regional competition Saturday, Hartland racked up a three-round total of 725 points to claim the top spot, while Brighton posted 699.5 points and finished in second place.
"We felt like we (had a good chance to qualify for states)," Hartland coach Paula Cunningham said. "We're definitely excited to be going to states and we're excited that Brighton is going with us."
The Class A state meet will be held March 12 at Grand Rapids.
On Saturday, Hartland posted a first-round score of 193, a second-round score of 219.5 and a third-round score of 312.5.
Cunningham said that although the Eagles are happy to be moving on, it's going to be a busy and strenuous week.
"We're going to be working hard this week to make sure we clean up all three rounds," Cunningham said. "We're definitely going to work on the timing of our jumps and the timing of our skills. In round three the focus will be making all the stunts stick."
Brighton had a shaky second round, according to coach Kim Klaus and eventual third-place finisher Mason was threatening, but the Bulldogs rebounded with a stellar third round. Mason posted a score of 658.5.
Brighton's third-round score of 305 was their highest all season in that round and Klaus was delighted with the way her team responded to a little adversity.
"(The third round) was nice because they had a little pressure on them to show what they could come up with," Klaus said. "They really showed they wanted it."
Brighton senior Ashley Clarke said the Bulldogs felt no pressure entering the final round.
"We were all very confident," Clarke said. "None of us were even nervous. We were aggressive with it. We just said, 'We are going to do this.'
None of the current Bulldogs have ever competed at the state meet and Klaus said the team is thrilled with the opportunity. It makes it all the more satisfying that another Kensington Valley Conference team will join them.
"It's nice to be able to share it with somebody, especially when the (Brighton and Hartland) kids have such great camaraderie," Klaus said. "They've been close all year as far as supporting each other."
After four years of hard work, Clarke is finally finding out what she and the other seniors have been striving to achieve.
"As soon as they announced that we were the second team going to states we all just got up a screamed," Clarke said. "It was the best feeling to know that we were going. This is what I worked for for four years."
The goal now for Hartland is to compete for a state title. If the Eagles fall short, however, they hope to find themselves near the top.
"We're hoping to finish in the top half," Cunningham said. "It's the best of the best that's there. We're going to work for it all. We would love to be the state champs, but just to be there is an honor."
The Bulldogs will spend the week leading up to the state finals tweaking their second round in an effort to have a stronger showing. Brighton had a good week of practice prior to the regional meet and Klaus knows the Bulldogs will need more of the same in preparation for the state meet.
"I don't want to change too much because they're at the point where they've got to nail their rounds and I want them to feel confident," Klaus said. "Perfect practice makes a perfect performance, not the other way around."
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Cheer rivals become friends
By Fred Costello
daily press & argus
By definition, a rivalry is a state of competition or antagonism. In other words, it's two parties that just don't like one another. But the rivalry between the Brighton and Hartland competitive cheerleading teams is of a different kind. It's almost, well, friendly.
While this may seem odd to some, the Eagles and Bulldogs will nonetheless be pulling for one another at this weekend's Class A competitive cheer regional final in Oxford.
Ashley Clarke doesn't see anything wrong with that. In fact, her and a few of her fellow Brighton cheer teammates will be working with - not against - a few members of Hartland's squad this summer.
Clarke, Erica Frank, Mandy McCue and Angela Seremjian will be instructors at the Champion Cheer camp in Alma this summer, along with Hartland's Crystal Wood, Bridget Deming and Sarah Rogers. ÊÊ
The group went through a series of three grueling tryouts at the camp last summer, each auditioning for one of 50 coveted instructing positions. A total of 98 girls participated in the tryout phase. Clarke said the whole experience brought members of the two schools close together.
"People expect it to be a mean rivalry," Clarke said. "But we don't have any problems with any of them. We all have the same interests. When it comes down to business, yeah, we're there to compete, but it's not a big deal."
Looking ahead to this weekend, Clarke believes that the two schools will end up taking first and second place - grabbing both state finals berths.
"I'm really excited for the regional," Clarke said. "I know (Brighton and Hartland) will be the two teams going to states."
Brighton coach Kim Klaus also hopes to see the Eagles and Bulldogs together make the trip to states.
"Normally one of us is ahead and one is slightly behind," Klaus said. "It makes us both better and it's not a mean rivalry in any way. (Hartland coach) Paula (Cunningham) and I are both hoping that we both go."
While eighth-ranked Hartland, Brighton and Mason are generally regarded as the top contenders, Howell also will be among the 12 teams competing for the top two spots.
After battling through a drastic amount of sick cheerleaders, Howell coach Melanie Sietman says her squad is now ready for the most important part of the season. But at the same time they're being realistic with their expectations.
"The girls are real excited and it's been much better with almost everybody back," Sietman said. "I just hope to place toward the top. I know Brighton and Hartland and Mason will be there and it will be hard to get in the top two."
Over at Fowlerville, Gladiators' coach Cindy Champagne can understand where Sietman is coming from. Her team also competes within a very challenging regional bracket at DeWitt.
"We're in a very tough region," Champagne explained. "You've got Ovid-Elsie - the defending Class B state champions - and Chesaning who were second runners-up last year. We're also going up against DeWitt, who we haven't beaten this year. We're optimistic and I think that getting at least fourth place is not out of our reach."
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Spirited
By Fred Costello
daily press & argus
HOWELL - As the third round of Wednesday's competitive cheer matchup between Howell and Hartland came to a close, Eagles' coach Paula Cunningham got airborne. Even a set of heels couldn't keep Cunningham from jumping up in excitement as her team rolled over Howell 618 to 513.5.
"Coach Cunningham always goes insane after the third round," Hartland senior Sarah Rogers said. "She's the most enthusiastic coach I've ever seen."
The Eagles started strong in the first round, posting a 182 to Howell's 151.5. But the second round is where Hartland really pulled away, outscoring the Highlanders 203-150.5. Round three was much closer, as the Eagles edged Howell 233-211.5.
Despite a relatively easy victory and a 3-0 Kensington Valley Conference record, Cunningham was only mildly pleased with the win.
"I'm happy with how we did, but not as much as last week," Cunningham said. "We need to clean up our third round and work on our execution in the first and second rounds. We're going to make some changes to round one. We also got a penalty for our tumbling."
She was definitely impressed, however, with her team's effort the entire evening.
"I'm always proud of the girls' energy and enthusiasm," Cunningham said. "They're getting better."
Howell coach Melanie Seitman was more concerned with her team's attitude than its 0-3 KVC record.
"The girls have been improving so much and I'm so proud of how they did tonight," Seitman said. "I'm happy with how they did and I'm sure they're happy too. They push themselves to get better and our two seniors, Jaylin Shreve and Katie Jarois get the girls going. They all know what to do, its just a matter of going out and doing it."
Seitman said she fully expects to see the Highlanders turn things around as far as their conference record is concerned. They've seen the KVC's only state-ranked squad in the Brighton Bulldogs.
"The good thing is, the hard ones are out of the way," Seitman explained. "We've already faced Brighton and Hartland. I expect us to finish up with a good showing at the league finals."
The KVC league meet is Feb. 19 at Howell, and Cunningham said her team could very well be in position to win.
"We have a lot of good potential, and our ultimate goal is to make it to the state finals," Cunningham said. "To keep our KVC title, we're going to have to get some great execution."
She said that Brighton will pose the biggest threat to Hartland's title.
Rogers said this Eagles team is reminiscent of her sophomore year. She hopes to place high in her final state meet, should Hartland make it that far.
"Two years ago we had a lot of seniors, just like we do now," Rogers said. "We're all working as hard as we can and we hope to come out in the top three."
The Eagles next compete at the Lake Orion Invitational on Saturday. The Highlanders travel to South Lyon next Wednesday.
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Three cheers for former Fowlerville coach
By Fred Costello
daily press & argus HOLLAND -
***This was Coach Laura's high school Coach!
Peggy Lintemuth is a trailblazer. The former Fowlerville resident has been responsible for the formation of three Michigan high school competitive cheerleading teams, and in November, she was awarded the Michigan High School Cheerleading Association's Coach of the Year award. She ran Fowlerville High School's cheer program from its inception in 1986 until 1995. Lintemuth has a deep commitment to making sure that competitive cheer is viewed as a serious sport. "When I first started, we had no place to practice and no equipment, it was very old-school," Lintemuth explained. "Now, competitive cheer is the fastest-growing Michigan High School Athletic Association sport." Lintemuth's love for cheerleading started during her high school days in Byron, when she cheered, ran track and played basketball. Years after she moved to Fowlerville in 1971, her daughters decided they wanted to get involved with cheerleading. Lintemuth thought it natural to enter the world of coaching. She was fortunate enough to be able to coach - and coach with - all of her daughters. Lintemuth had Jennifer, 33, Sarah, 30, and Kate, 27, in the Fowlerville program and she helped Beth, 20, with her coaching career in West Ottawa. Fowlerville's program was a grassroots effort at first - they had only a sideline team for the first few of Lintemuth's seasons, but still competed. The results were commendable. The Gladiators were among the top three Class B teams for five years, winning titles in 1992 and '93. When competitive cheer began as an MHSAA sport in 1994, Lintemuth's squad was the state Class B runner-up - the best finish of her career. Lintemuth semi-retired after the 1995 season, when she and husband Dennis moved to the Holland area. She helped her daughter form a team at West Ottawa and was there two years before retiring again. Then, in 2002, she was persuaded by Holland Christian to help the school form a program. "They called and asked if I would just come in and talk to them about competitive cheer," Lintemuth said. "The school wanted to start up a program and I thought this is where I should be." Starting another new team has been a challenging experience for Lintemuth. "Imagine if you took a bunch of ninth-to-12th grade boys who had never played basketball and had them compete at the varsity level," Lintemuth said. "Maybe they'd dribbled on the driveway before, but had never played the game. That would be a very similar situation to our first year. The girls had cheered before, but had never seen anything like competitive cheer." Lintemuth's goal for her first year with Holland Christian: Don't come in last place. But despite the relative inexperience of her team, Lintemuth's squad won a conference title last year, her second with the team. Next season will definitely be the last for Lintemuth, who says she's retiring "for real" this time. Looking back, her career feels very rewarding. "Just getting competitive cheer as a recognized sport (at three schools) has been the biggest thing," Lintemuth said. "I've always though that this was where women's sports should be."
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Constant improvement
It's all any high school sports coach can hope for - from the first practice as freshmen to the last competition of senior year - to see team members improve.
This year's area competitive cheerleading teams are no different.
Each of their coaches begin the season with a sense of hope, encouraged by the thought of eclipsing last year's successes, or reversing their shortcomings.
They are all striving toward the same goal of reaching the state final at the Delta Plex in Grand Rapids.
The paths they will take to get there will be quite different, however.
Hartland enters the 2005 season looking to defend last season's Kensington Valley Conference title and sixth-place finish at the state tournament. The Eagles will be tested by an experienced Brighton squad and a Howell team led by first-year coach Melanie Sietman. Fowlerville, meanwhile, will be shooting for the top of its division in the Capital Area Activities Conference.
Here's a look at the upcoming season:
Brighton
After finishing tied last season with Novi as KVC runners-up, and a fourth place showing at the regional tournament, the Bulldogs have high expectations as this year kicks off.
Getting the team to the state final is the ultimate goal, according to Kim Klaus, Brighton's coach for the past 16 seasons.
"Last year we had a good season, but didn't end up where we wanted to be," Klaus said.
In order to go far, Klaus said she will lean heavily on her group of eight seniors.
"The drive and motivation of the seniors will take the team where it needs to go," Klaus explained. "Their leadership will determine the outcome of this season."
Klaus said she would be very happy for her team, should they make a run at a title this year.
"It would mean the world to them to accomplish that after all the hard work," Klaus said.
Brighton opens its season at home against South Lyon on Jan. 5.
Hartland
After last season's sixth-place finish at the state tournament, Hartland coach Paula Cunningham has similar goals in mind for the 2005 season.
"We're hoping to make it again to the state finals," she said. "We'd like to finish in the top four."
The Eagles lost just two seniors to graduation, and a full boat of current 12th-graders - 16 in all - will help carry the load this season.
"It's a big advantage not losing teammates," Cunningham said. "Everybody knows what needs to be done, and in creating material, I think overall it is easier.
The Eagles will compete against Novi on Wednesday for their first taste of competition.
Howell
The Highlanders have a very young squad this season, featuring just two seniors.
Yet, first-year coach Melanie Sietman was pleasantly surprised by what she saw when she arrived at Howell - a very determined group.
"The girls have a lot more talent that what I thought they'd have," Sietman said. "They've had to deal with a lot of coaching changes."
Sietman's goals aren't quite as lofty as some of her KVC peers, which will probably benefit the relatively inexperienced Highlanders.
"I really want to focus on doing better in the league," Sietman said. "I'd like to have a strong showing at regionals as well."
Howell opens it season on Jan. 5 when it travels to Milford.
Fowlerville
Fowlerville's Cindy Champagne can't help but be optimistic about the upcoming season. The second-year coach has seen her team start to perfect the finer points of their routines.
"We're trying hard to accomplish our goals by working on the little things," Champagne explained.
"There's a lot we need to clean up, but we feel like we're doing everything we can to stay competitive and it's paying off."
The Gladiators also will be counting on its senior core for stability, and a better finish in the CAAC.
"We've got seven seniors who are at the top of their game right now," Champagne said. "We're in a tough league, but the girls have a strong outlook and they want to do well."
Fowlerville opens the season against Leslie on Jan. 8, before facing rival Dewitt on Jan. 12.
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Hartland wins KVC cheer crown
Hartland wins KVC cheer crown
By Andy Karl
daily press & argus
HARTLAND - Hartland junior Sam Kendall said the Eagles just held up to their motto when they won the Kensington Valley Conference competitive cheer championship on Saturday.
"Nobody comes into our house and pushes us around," she said. "We haven't lost here yet."
The Eagles topped Brighton and Novi in a closely contested competition in the Hartland gym, taking their first league title in two years with 13 points (seven for the league meet, six for the dual season), while Brighton finished with 12 and Novi finished third with 11.
"It was really big," Hartland coach Paula Cunningham said. "We were surprised. We are surprised and happy and of course, everybody likes to win."
The Bulldogs had to place in the top two on Saturday to earn at least a split title, but wound up taking third, as Hartland finished with 667.5 total points and Novi earned 665. Brighton finished with 662.
"You always want to place at the top, especially when you come in at the top," Brighton coach Kim Klaus said. "It was really close though. If we had been beaten by 20 points it would be a little harder to take."
Howell finished fourth in the final league standings and the KVC meet, after entering the competition in fifth, while Milford (fifth in KVC meet) and Lakeland (seventh in KVC meet) tied for fifth. South Lyon rounded out the league in seventh, after entering with the lowest dual meet place points, but finishing ahead of Lakeland in the finals.
"We did fantastic, I am really happy," Howell coach Candy Jones-Guerin said. "The girls got absolutely the place that they deserved and they'll keep working hard to get up there in the ranks next year."
She added that she was impressed with the Eagles performance.
"Hartland was at the top of their game today," Candy said. "We're proud of them. They're a team that we have camaraderie with and we're really excited for them."
Hartland took an early lead, as it earned 185 points in the first round and Brighton took second with 177. The Eagles went on to win the second round (196), before barely holding on in round three with a 286.5 effort. Novi cut the final score to within three after a 308.5-effort in the third round.
"We're going to work on round three a little more," Cunningham said. "It's still a little shaky and we're going to work on formations. Of course all three rounds still need improvement, but three needs the most."
Brighton coach Kim Klaus said thought the Bulldogs need stronger first-round scores.
"I thought our round one scores were really low, which surprised me," Klaus said. "Overall we gave it what we had and it just wasn't good enough today."
Taking the early lead after round one gave the Eagles all the confidence they needed.
"I think coming into this we were a little unsure of what was going to happen and we were a little worried that we weren't going to be able to do it," she said. "After round one we knew we had it in us."
Winning the KVC title is only part of Cunningham's plan. She said the Feb. 28 regional and a good showing at the state meet on March 6 are more important to the Eagles.
"It's extremely important to stay focused before regionals," Cunningham said. "This is really nice to win the league title and stuff, but it's much more important to win the regional, because the state finals is where you want to be.
"This gives us confidence," she continued. "I felt like we really needed this win to boost our confidence and boost our energy to finish the rest of the season."
Brighton senior Angel Dotson said that the Bulldogs' focus will shift to regionals, now that the KVC season is in the books.
"I am looking forward to regionals, it's another great competition," Dotson said. "Our team is good and anything is possible and we can do it. We're going to work so hard and this is not the end for us."
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County cheer teams compete for KVC crown
County cheer teams compete for KVC crown
daily press & argus
With two state-ranked teams in the Kensington Valley Conference, predictions are difficult to make for Saturday's KVC competitive cheer league meet.
"I know Brighton will be a tough competitor, also Novi will be too," Hartland coach Paula Cunningham said. "You really can't second-guess any team. It all depends on the day and if everybody is on. It's not like that ball going through the hoop. You don't know what the outcome is going to be. It's the judges that decide and it's just a matter of opinion."
Hartland, ranked seventh in the state, and Brighton (ranked sixth) competed in the season's opening event, where the Bulldogs upended the Eagles.
"I look at rankings and it's an honor that other coaches think that you're up there in the state," Brighton coach Kim Klaus said. "But it doesn't really mean a whole lot as far as how your team is going to do, because you have to get there first.
"It's exciting that we're thought of, but we have a lot of work ahead of us and have to get going."
The Bulldogs are much improved over past seasons, according to Cunningham.
"I think they're really good - they're the best I've seen in years from Brighton," she said. "They've done an outstanding job this year."
Brighton coach Kim Klaus agreed.
"This team works very hard and this is a good team and in the past couple of years this is one of the better teams that I have coached," she said. "It's been a long time coming, but we have a lot of depth and that helps."
Brighton finished the dual-meet portion of the season as the front-runner going into the league meet, but Hartland isn't ready to have its KVC dominance end quite yet.
"I think we've worked very hard," Hartland cheerleader Sam Kendall said. "We have a few surprises, but pretty much the same things, but we've been hitting them a lot better. I think this is at the top of our list for season goals."
Howell coach Candy Jones-Guerin said she doesn't rule anybody out, but thinks the battle for the conference championship will be between the Bulldogs and Eagles.
"They're at the top of their game and we are definitely coming along faster and faster," she said. "But the real showdown will be between Novi, Brighton, and Hartland, but the bigger showdown will probably be between Brighton and Hartland."
Jones-Guerin said that Howell will be trying to win the event, but more importantly, the Highlanders will be concerned with improvement.
"Our team goals are more based on our team getting better every time we go on the mat," she said. "That's the way we gauge how we've done and we want to see the difference in scores at the beginning of the season and at the end."
The Highlanders beat South Lyon and Milford, but came up short against Lakeland, in an event they should have won, according to Jones-Guerin, as they were heavily penalized.
"We have an extremely competitive league and there is so much talent stretched across our entire league that it's probably one of the more difficult in the state," Jones-Guerin said. "The (Howell) girls really appreciate being part of such a strong league and in the beginning of the season they were going against some of the toughest teams in the state, so they got that experience right away."
With such a competitive league, Brighton cheerleader Katie Howard said she has noticed the difference in the Bulldogs this season.
"I think our whole team is really excited, we've come so far this season and it's been really nerve-racking," Howard said. "Hartland has been an awesome team and great competitor and they have made us step our game up."
She added that a win on Saturday will help legitimize the Bulldogs as best in the KVC.
"I think that Hartland came in as the big dog last year and they still have that this year, but Brighton has heart," she said. "We have all the heart to win it this year and we're ready. I think that if we win we can show that (beating Hartland earlier this season) isn't just a fluke and we can do it any time."
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Eagle Cheer Team Stays Hot
Eagles cheer team stays hot
By John Mueller
daily press & argus
HARTLAND - At this point in the season, Hartland competitive cheer coach Paula Cunningham insists her girls are trying to narrow their focus.
There's a lot they could focus on - a No. 6 ranking in the state, a 3-1 record in the Kensington Valley Conference, and a quest to qualify for the state tournament for the second year in a row - but Cunningham said the focus is a lot narrower than most people would expect.
"Believe it or not, we don't focus on anything except improving our scores every time we go in," she said.
This has been working well lately for the Eagles, who picked up their fourth dual-meet win of the season on Thursday night with a 665.5-634.5 victory over Novi.
Ever since Hartland suffered a season-opening loss to the rival Brighton Bulldogs (who are ranked No. 5 in the state), the squad has rolled over South Lyon, Milford and now the Wildcats.
Record-wise, Novi (now 2-2 KVC) had been equal with Hartland going in, but it was the Eagles who persevered.
"Novi is a really strong team, but we just have a lot of confidence right now," Hartland junior Angela Moryc said. "With each meet we have, we get better."
Novi co-coaches Emily Parker and Amy Denys were disappointed by their team's shaky third-round score (267.5), when the Wildcats dropped 19 points in penalties alone.
"Our score dropped significantly in the third round," Parker said.
But despite the penalties, Denys said she was pleased by what she saw on the mat.
"We'd been working on a lot of 'cleaning up' material, and I think we felt really good with it," she said. "Even with the deductions, I think the time we spent on the routines in practice really paid off tonight."
"I thought overall tonight, we were much better in our accuracy," Parker added.
Cunningham wasn't particularly thrilled with her team's performance in the third round, either. The Eagles ended with 283.5 points for the frame.
"Our third-round score last week was stronger than it was tonight," she said. "But competitive cheer is different than other sports; it's not like a basketball going through a hoop. The scores in competitive cheer are all a matter of opinion."
Clearly, her Eagles are eyeing those scores more carefully than anything else. Hartland junior Sara Kelley said her team doesn't spend too much time thinking about being ranked No. 6 in the state.
"We always just try to improve from the week before," she said. "We're not trying to protect our ranking or anything."
The Eagles have two more KVC dual meets left on the schedule. After that it's time for the league meet, where every team will get to face one another all over again - but all at the same time.
"I'm sure Brighton's been working hard, just like we have," Kelley said. "The rematch should be good. And Novi should be good again, too. Those two teams and us should be the three top teams at the league meet."
But that is still a couple of weeks off. Hartland heads to the Mason Invitational on Saturday for some non-league action before finishing off its dual meets with Howell and Lakeland.
"Hopefully when it's time for the league meet and regionals and everything, we'll be on top of things," Moryc said.
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Stunt Women
Stunt Women
By Stephanie Rutherford
STAFF WRITER
South Lyon Herald
Some people say that cheerleading isn't a sport, but they better not say it around these South Lyon High School girls. Stop by after school and one will see an athletic bunch flipping, tumbling and practicing their precise routines. They struggle, suffer and are as dedicated as any football them. Call them cheerleaders, but don't call this a fluff sport.
This is the first full season for the South Lyon High School girl's competitive cheer team. The team, coached by Stacy Soroka, plans to gain credibility while competing against experienced KVC winners Hartland and Novi. The team lost their first meet against Hartland on Dec. 17, but coach Soroka was extremely happy with her team's performance.
"The girls did great and worked really hard. We were going against a really established, great team," Soroka said. "I told the girls not to be disappointed, but to keep trying and improving."
The new team is led by captains junior Jenna Turowski and sophomores Ellen West, Amy Berry and Sam Reginek who help choreograph the cheers along with coach Soroka. The team cheers at basketball games at South Lyon High School, but have separate cheers for competition.
"Our cheers at the games and in competition are totally different performances," Soroka said. "In competition there is a lot of tumbling, jumps and required elements that must be performed. The girls are just getting used to how strict the requirements are."
The South Lyon High School girl's competitive cheer team's first home meet will be in the high school gym on Jan. 22.
"Our goal is to start a team from the bottom up and to get the girls very comfortable with the expectation of the sport," Soroka said.
Coach Soroka, a long-time cheerleader and coach, hopes that the addition of competitive cheer to the South Lyon athletic department will give cheerleading the recognition she feels it deserves.
"We are really trying to raise the bar and get cheerleading recognized as a sport," she said. "I encourage anyone to come to our practices and see how athletic these girls are and how hard they work. This is a very hard sport that requires a lot of dedication."
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Cheer Coaches Like New Format
Cheer coaches like new format
By John Mueller
daily press & argus
HOWELL - Sure, one team had to win and one team had to lose.
But both coaches agreed on one thing: The new format of the competitive cheer season appears to be paying off for everyone.
Brighton and Howell competed on Thursday night, and the Bulldogs won by a score of 661-514.5 to better their Kensington Valley Conference record to 4-0 on the season. The Highlanders, meanwhile, dropped to 0-3.
Both Brighton coach Kim Klaus and Howell coach Candy Jones-Guerin said the dual meets, which are new to every team in the KVC this season, seem to already be helping their respective teams get better.
"I think this is good for our sport," Klaus said. "I personally like it, because our season is less nerve-racking when it's not all based on one league tournament."
In the past, the final KVC standings would be determined by the teams' showings in the end-of-the-season league meet. This season, things have changed a bit.
The seven KVC teams (with the exception of Pinckney) now gets the chance to compete in one dual meet per week leading up to the final league meet.
"It gives you so much more experience," Jones-Guerin said. "It helps you prepare for the next time."
"You can see your scores on a weekly basis, and that helps you learn," Howell junior Kara McRae said.
The Bulldogs led all three rounds on the way to Thursday's win. The first round is known as the leadership round, the second is the compulsory round and the third is the open round or 'stunt' round.
The judges base their scoring on everything from precision of the routines to the strength of each squad's vocal performance while cheering.
"We've got power and energy to be the best," Brighton junior Angela Seremjian said. "I think we've bonded as a team this season. We really came together."
Last season the Bulldogs won the league title, but failed to qualify for the state tournament after taking third at regionals. Klaus said her team has shared a collective goal ever since this season started.
"We have a strong team, we work really well together, and we're staying focused to make it to states," she said. "But our league is pretty competitive. All of the teams have improved from last year."
"We're on a winning streak, and we want to keep going," Brighton junior Erica Frank said.
The Bulldogs are off until next Thursday, when they play host to Lakeland in another KVC dual competition.
Jones-Guerin said she's glad the KVC is so tough this year.
"It's really strong, and it makes your own team better when it's going against tough competition," she said.
Howell sophomore Lisa Pantalone added that the team seems to be getting better at handling pressure. Some of the girls had to learn a brand-new stunt that had been added to their third round shortly before Thursday's competition started.
"There was pressure on some of them, and they handled it pretty well," she said.
The Highlanders will compete in Saturday's Oxford Invitational in non-league action before traveling to South Lyon next Thursday for another KVC dual.
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Cheerful Change
Cheerful change
By John Mueller
daily press & argus
This winter sports season, area competitive cheer teams will be doing a lot more than just showing up to basketball games to cheer their respective schools along.
Thanks to a decision reached by the athletic directors in the Kensington Valley Conference, the competitive cheer teams will actually compete in dual meets against each other for the first time.
In years past, the teams would simply compete in a few tournaments here and there and then finally face off in the annual KVC meet at the end of the season; the league champions were decided by the teams' showings in this single tournament.
Starting this season, competitive cheer teams in the KVC (with the exception of Pinckney's team, which is strictly a sideline cheer program) will compete in a formatted season similar to other sports. Thus, there will be more opportunities to compete for a league title.
"I think it's good, as far as the kids having more chances to go for the KVC title," Hartland coach Paula Cunningham said. "We're making it more like other sports."
Brighton coach Kim Klaus agreed.
"It gives them the opportunity to compete more on a regular basis," she said.
The drawback? The teams suddenly have to get used to the idea of practicing and competing like the more traditional sports teams do.
"We've had to get ready about two weeks earlier, which rushes everything," Cunningham said. "But in the long run, I think it'll make our league stronger."
There will be three dual meets per week, with six of the teams competing and one taking the week off. The winner of each meet will receive two points, and the loser gets one point.
At the KVC league meet, the first place team will receive seven points, the second place team will get six, and so on right down the line. All the points accumulated in the regular dual meets as well as in the league meet will then be added up, and whichever team has the most points wins the league.
"I had some apprehension, and I wasn't sure how it was going to work," said Howell coach Candy Jones-Guerin, who coached the junior varsity squad last year before moving up to varsity.
"It's strange in competitive cheer to just go head-to-head with another team," she continued. "But after our first dual meet, I knew it was going to work excellent."
Brighton
Brighton, which won the league title last season but didn't compete in the state tournament, has lost almost 10 girls from last year's squad. But coach Klaus is still confident about the new season.
"We have a strong team this year, so our expectations are going to be high," she said. "We have a great group of girls, and I hope we have a great season. We have seven seniors, a strong core junior group, and quite a few new girls, and they are really hard workers."
Hartland
Cunningham's Eagles, who took second place in the league last year and also placed fourth in the state, are also without a substantial number of contributors from last season's team.
"I graduated 14 seniors, so more than half of my team is new," she said. "They're excited, they don't know what to expect, and they don't want to let anyone down."
Like Klaus's opinion of her Bulldogs, Cunningham said her team has displayed a determined work ethic thus far.
"This is probably the hardest working team I've ever had," she said.
Howell
For Howell's team, meanwhile, there's not much of a shortage of girls with varsity experience.
"We've got 20 on varsity, and about 70 percent of them are returning varsity cheerleaders," Jones-Guerin said. "And all of them have cheered before either on varsity or JV. I'm looking to the two seniors (Kiera Chartier and Jenna Woodcox) to provide a lot of leadership."
Jones-Guerin, a former cheerleader at Howell herself until she graduated in 1995, said the most exciting thing about Howell's team is the continuing rise in the level of interest.
"The program has grown tremendously," she said. "It's been growing at a pretty steady pace, and this year we're doing so well. We also gained a lot of skill, and everyone's in excellent shape. I would say our team is at a peak for strength."
Fowlerville
Meanwhile, in the Capital Area Activities Conference, Fowlerville also has a new coach this season.
Cindy Champagne will lead the squad in its first year of competition in the newly-formed CAAC; the Gladiators will compete against Mason, Okemos, DeWitt, Eaton Rapids, Williamston and Lakewood.
In the CAAC's blueprint for the season, the seven teams will face each other in two league meets before competing in an overall league championship (which is scheduled to take place at Fowlerville at the end of the season).
Just like in the KVC's league meet, the first-place finisher in the CAAC's league meets will get seven points, second place will take six, and so on. In the final championship, the points are doubled.
"This is a long time in coming for us," Champagne said. "It will be nice to compete in league meets, and this will be the first time that Fowlerville will have hosted a championship meet (in cheerleading), so that's kind of cool."
As far as her team is looking, Champagne is optimistic.
"Last year they had a very small team, but everyone has returned and now we have 17 on the team," she said. "We have four seniors (Jamie Champagne, Brittany Sefton, Amber Chave and Amanda Allmendinger), and I'm pretty much going to let them motivate everyone."
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Howell Cheerleaders Gear up for Caital 1 Bowl
Howell cheerleaders gear up for Capital One Bowl
By John Mueller
daily press & argus
It's time for some of the members of Howell's varsity competitive cheer team to take a little roadtrip.
The destination? Florida. The reason? To make a splash at the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, which takes place on Jan. 1.
The Highlanders will join hundreds of other cheerleaders on the field between the first and second half of the showdown between Purdue and Georgia for a nationally-televised performance.
Kara McRae, one of the 15 Highlanders making the trip, said nobody on the team seems to be nervous - yet.
"I just think we're really excited," she said. "We've been practicing a lot, and we just want to do a good job of representing Howell cheerleading."
She paused when reminded of the huge crowd expected to be on hand, not to mention everyone watching on television.
"But maybe we'll be nervous when we get there," she admitted.
The cheerleaders will leave Howell today and look to arrive in Orlando by Sunday, where they will be put up in a local hotel along with the other performers from around the country. From Sunday until Wednesday, the Highlanders will be practicing their performance on a local high school football field, gearing up for the big day on Thursday.
But it won't exactly be like cramming for a big exam when the cheerleaders start running through their routines. Prior to leaving for Florida, each member of the team received an instructional videotape taking them through their entire performance.
The performance is broken up into three separate routines, and will be accompanied by a live band. In addition to the halftime festivities, all of the performers present will be cheering throughout the entire game.
"It gives us an opportunity to show what we can do," Howell cheerleader Jenna Woodcox said. "All of my family members are really excited, and everybody is going to be watching on T.V. People at school, too."
Howell's varsity program, coached by Candy Jones-Guerin, has had to work hard to secure the trip.
It all started in early August, when most of the Highlanders were up in Alma for Camp Champion, an elite cheerleading camp that is in its 16th year of existence. Here, the cheerleaders learned some new cheers, worked on some stunts and tumbling, spent a lot of time bonding - and picked up an invitation to head down to Florida for the Capital One Bowl.
But it wasn't exactly a free ride from that point on.
"When we were invited to go, it was completely up to the girls," said Rosemary Scranton, the assistant varsity coach; Jones-Guerin is unable to make the trip, so Scranton will be heading the Howell assemblage along with junior varsity coach Melissa Dunwell.
"It costs about $900 per girl, and none of this would even be happening if not for the parents," Scranton said. "They were the ones taking their weekends and meeting and planning for this trip."
In the months between August and now, the girls spent considerable time trying to raise money, doing things like organizing garage sales, going door-to-door around local businesses asking for donations, and selling boxes of candy.
The cheerleaders made it happen. And Jones-Guerin is one coach who couldn't be prouder of her team.
"They've accepted the challenge," she said. "I am so excited for them, and I'm excited for them to come back and tell me all about it. It will be such a neat experience for them. Not every student has the opportunity to perform on television."
"We'll have all of our teammates with us, plus there will be a ton of other people on the field," McRae said. "I think it'll be awesome."
Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m., and the game will air on ABC (channels 7, 12 or 53).
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Brighton Vs. Hartland
Brighton VS. Hartland
December 12, 2003 -- By Andy Karl
daily press & argus
BRIGHTON - When the Brighton competitive cheer team found out it had Hartland on its schedule for the season's first event Brighton senior Angel Dotson said the Bulldogs were a little nervous.
"Hartland is a great team and they give us great competition," Dotson said. "It was definitely nerve-racking to have our first competition against them."
The Bulldogs were able to overcome their nerves to beat the Eagles 629.5-594, topping Hartland in each of the three rounds.
"We had a great day today," Brighton coach Kim Klaus said. "We were strong in rounds one and two and strong enough in round three. It was a team effort and I am proud of the way we worked together."
Thursday's meet was a first in the Kensington Valley Conference, which is having a league season in competitive cheer for the first time. Each of the seven conference teams that have competitive cheer squads (Pinckney does not have a competitive cheer team) will meet in dual meets before the Feb. 14 league meet.
Brighton took an early lead at 185.5-179.5 after the first round and improved its lead to 15 by outscoring Hartland 193.5-184.5 in the second round.
"We had great performances for their first competition, which the only had three weeks to prepare for," Klaus said. "I'm really happy with their effort today."
Brighton added to its lead once again by outscoring the Eagles 250.5-230 in the final round of competition.
"I thought our round two looked really strong, but there are things we have to fix in all three rounds.," Hartland coach Paula Cunningham said. "In round three we fell apart, but that's all right. It's early and we'll clean it up."
Klaus said she thought Hartland brought great competition, and thinks the Eagles will present a challenge throughout the season.
"I thought Hartland did a great job today," Klaus said. "They are definitely a top team. They're going to come back and be stronger and we're just going to have to be ready for them."
Klaus said Hartland may be the team to beat in the KVC, and with the win it gives Brighton a good idea of what it needs to do.
"It let us know where we stand and what we need to work for to get better," she said. "Our round two needs to be stronger and our round stunt round also needs to be stronger."
Hartland, which finished fourth in the state last year, will be able to rebound, according to Cunningham.
"More than half my team is new this year, so I feel that they've done an excellent job," Cunningham said. "I've never had a team that works as hard as this one. I have a core group of girls that motivate the younger ones and take care of them. I have a great group."
With only three weeks of competition under their belts, Dotson said she was pleased with the Bulldogs' effort.
"We have been working so hard," Dotson said. "Yesterday we had a three-hour practice. This is the earliest competition we've had and we try to drill and drill until we can get it done.
"I think we all came out here and worked really hard," she added. "We came out here and were really ready to do it."
However, she added that Brighton found some areas where it needs work.
"We have little areas to improve, like our stunt round for example," Dotson said. "But we can only go up from here. We've really just trying to stay positive."
The Bulldogs' next test will be Wednesday when they travel to Milford, while Hartland will return home to face South Lyon. Both events are slated to begin at 7 p.m.
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