Eastern Maine cheering champs

CA takes title, Fort and PI qualify

BANGOR, Maine — Most fans might not be able to tell by watching, but there can be an element of momentum to a high school cheering routine.
So when perennial power Central Aroostook Jr./Sr. High School of Mars Hill successfully completed its first stunt of Saturday’s Class D regional cheering championship at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, the Panthers were well on their way to another title.
“It pumped us a up a lot,” said Central Aroostook senior Courtney Milliard. “It gets us in the spirit that we’re going to nail this routine.”
Central Aroostook coach Sami Allen put the team’s most difficult stunt — a pyramid — at the outset of its three-minute routine, and the 18 team members on the mat executed it flawlessly, setting the stage for a performance that left the defending state champions well ahead of the field.
“We still have a little more cleaning up to do,” said Allen, whose team will attempt to win its seventh state championship in the last eight years on Feb. 7 at the Augusta Civic Center. “But with our first pyramid, which is very difficult, we nailed it today and were very excited about that.
“We have not had a perfect routine yet, but we’re hoping it will come soon,” she said.
The Panthers displayed a well-synchronized blend of tumbling and stunts while securing the regional title by a comfortable 17.9-point margin with their total of 106.4.
“Today was definitely the best we’ve performed in a while,” said Central Aroostook senior Jordan Canney, whose team dealt with strep throat and flu symptoms in the days leading up to the meet. “Everyone was happy with our performance, but we stumbled a little bit, so there’s definitely room for improvement.”
Central Aroostook team members are Canney, Milliard, Noelle Bailey, Whitnie Bradbury, Victoria Brewer, Dayna Collins, Emilie Durost, Sarah Gerritsen, Elizabeth Gillen, Sheratin Kelly, Lillie Mahan, Keara McCrum, Hunter Nicholson, Holly O’Leary, Michaela Pelletier, Halee Rusby, Sarah Sargent, Shannon Scully, Taia Tilley and Chloe Wheeler.
Fort Fairfield, which took to the mat right after the Panthers, scored 88.5 points to edge Bangor Christian by one-tenth of a point for second place.
“We did really well,” said Fort Fairfield coach Rachel Emery. “It was just a matter of them coming out and doing what they were taught to do, and if they went clean, they were going to be just fine.
“I didn’t know we were going to do that well,” she said.
The runner-up finish marked the continuation of a cheering resurgence at Fort Fairfield, which last won a state crown in 2007 — when Emery was part of the team.
Fort Fairfield did not qualify for states again until last winter, when it placed seventh at regionals and sixth at the state meet after Emery became the Tigers’ new coach.
A broken nose suffered by one of Fort’s team members two weeks ago required some modification of the team’s routine.
“What we came up with at [the Aroostook County meet in Caribou last week] was kind of a hodgepodge because of the broken nose that we had,” said Emery. “When we came back the next Saturday, we practiced for what seemed like forever and hammered out what the routine should have been for Caribou, but what we did today was really 50 percent new.”
Team members for Fort Fairfield are Kasidie Chapman, Marisa Clark, Meaghan Everitt, Makaila Flanagan, Gracie Griffeth, Kailanny Hernandez-Loprena, Ashley Levesque, Julian McKenney, Branden Nichols, Sarah Owens, Stephanie Parady, Kalena Pearce, Alyssa Poitras, Steven Wentworth, Paige Worcester and Gabrielle Wortman.
Buckfield, which along with Rangeley were the lone Western Maine schools in the field, followed Bangor Christian in fourth place with 83.5 points, with Machias (86.0), Penobscot Valley of Howland (83.5), Woodland (79.7) and Deer Isle-Stonington (77.8) also qualifying for the state meet.
In Class B, Hermon totaled 141 points to outdistance Ellsworth, which finished second at 131.6. Gardiner (128.2), Presque Isle (123.5), John Bapst of Bangor (120.4) and Old Town (113.2) also qualified for states from the 14-school field.