AUGUSTA — It’s common for high school cheering squads to alter their routines a bit from one championship competition to another.

But a complete makeover?

That’s a bit more rare, but it’s what Monmouth did for its Western C championship appearance Saturday afternoon.

“We changed our dance, our stunts and our techniques,” Monmouth coach Mike Gilbert said. “We changed a lot, but we met our goal. We wanted to go top three, and we did that.”

Monmouth finished third behind Madison and Lisbon at the Western C competition to earn a berth in the state championships Feb. 11. Monmouth, the defending Western C champs, scored 103 points. Lisbon won the title with 122.1 points while Madison was second with 117.8.

The top six in each regional qualify for the state championships.

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“Go big or go home, that was our motto,” Monmouth captain Molly Plossay said.

Medomak Valley won the Western B title 142.9 while Leavitt was second with 134.6. Wells (131.7) and Mountain Valley (123.9) followed.

Oak Hill narrowly missed a berth in the state championships by finishing seventh with 111.8 points.

Gardiner finished ninth (108.4) while Winslow was 15th (79.1).

Lewiston followed up its Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championship with the Eastern A title.

The Blue Devils weren’t perfect, but judges rewarded their difficult routine. They finished with 155.5 points. Bangor finished second with 148.2, followed by Brewer (147), Edward Little (133.9), Hampden (137) and Oxford Hills (116.2)

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Cony finished seventh with 111.1 points while Lawrence was ninth with 109.6.

“I think we are a little bit anxious (Saturday),” Cony coach Erin Eldridge said. “Top six was definitely our goal. I think if we hit our routine we would’ve had a shot. But they did an excellent job. Cony has come a long way.”

Monmouth changed its routine after freshman Kaylee St. Pierre fell and injured her nose during practice Friday night.

“She was the main base on one of our stunts, so we had to make some switches,” Gilbert said.

Added captain Lillian Kaplan: “We tweaked a few things. We made some changes and pulled together as a team.”

Madison also parlayed a change in routine into a state championship berth.

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The Bulldogs responded from a fifth-place finish at the Mountain Valley Conference championships and nearly beat Lisbon.

“We wanted to make states,” Madison cheerleading coach Amber Douvielle said. “We came in and wanted to really step it up. The MVC’s were not good enough. We had to step it up. We added difficulty to the stunts and we worked on cleaning up the routine. We really wanted to get to states, and we made it. It was a good day.”

Added Madison captain Crystal DaCosta: “We were expecting to do good, but not this good. We’ve struggled before and now we’re regional runner-ups. It’s pretty amazing.”

Elsewhere Saturday, Ellsworth won the Eastern B title at the Bangor Auditorium while Nokomis (seventh) and Waterville (ninth) narrowly missed a state championship invite.

“It wasn’t our day,” Waterville coach Melissa Burila said.

Central Aroostook won the Class D East-West title while Dexter earned the Eastern C crown.

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com

 


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