Medomak Valley won their fourth KVAC cheering championship and their second in a row on Jan. 18 at the Augusta Civic Center. Team members are Stephanie Hill, Cassie Dever, Megan Linscott, Amanda Poland, Jessica Herrick, Hanna Smith, Margret Ryan, Megan Wright, Ashley Kenniston, Samantha Pelkey, Adrianna Wadsworth, Mariah Grindle, Molly Taylor, Cassie Smeltzer, Leah Wilcox, Cameron Robinson, and Desiree Reed. The team is coached by Heather Simmons and Rachel Coor. (Carrie Reynolds photo)
Medomak Valley cheerleaders successfully defended their Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference title on Monday, Jan. 18 at the Augusta Civic Center. The KVAC championship was the fourth in six years for the Lady Panthers. They also won in 2011, 2013, and 2015. They were runners-up in 2012 to Leavitt and 2014 to Gardiner.
An unexpected bonus was winning the Jamie Beth Shible Award for the cheerleading squad that showed the most improvement over their 2015 score. “That came out of nowhere,” coach Heather Simmons said.
“There is a new scoring system this year and we did very, very well on the score sheets,” Simmons said.
Medomak Valley cheerleaders perfom their KVAC championship routine. (Carrie Reynolds photo)
Medomak scored 80.4 points, followed by Gardiner 63.4, Leavitt 62.4, Mt. View 55.8, Erskine 53.8, Morse 51.7, Winslow 49.8, Spruce Mountain 45.4, Waterville 42, Nokomis 39.2, MCI 38.3, and Lincoln Academy 38.2.
The music theme for the Lady Panthers was Ladies of the ‘60s. Their routine was performed to the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” and Diana Ross and the Supremes’ “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Their dance number was performed to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary.”
Medomak’s routine was not perfect, but they had the degree of difficulty to come out on top. “We came down early on the first stunt, and had a timing issue on another stunt when one girl did not go up. They nailed their pyramid, their dance was phenomenal, and their jumps were amazing,” Simmons said.
Medomak will compete for a regional title on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. at the Augusta Civic Center. “We are hoping Saturday is great and states are perfect,” Simmons said of Medomak’s routine. “Their routine is fun and creative and technically worth a lot of points. We have to execute perfectly to win.”
“I am very proud of the effort they put in. We are really excited for regionals,” Simmons said.
Medomak Valley team members include Stephanie Hill, Cassie Dever, Megan Linscott, Amanda Poland, Jessica Herrick, Hanna Smith, Margret Ryan, Megan Wright, Ashley Kenniston, Samantha Pelkey, Adrianna Wadsworth, Mariah Grindle, Molly Taylor, Cassie Smeltzer, Leah Wilcox, Cameron Robinson, and Desiree Reed. The team is coached by Simmons and Rachel Coor.
