Medomak Valley cheerleaders placed second at the KVAC championship on Jan. 20 at the Augusta Civic Center. The young Panther team (with no seniors) scored 123.2 points and were KVAC runners-up to Gardiner (128.3).
The Panther squad won the KVAC title in 2011 and 2013 and were runners-up in 2012.
Medomak fields a much smaller team this year with only 10 cheerleaders. Coach Rachel Coor expects her numbers to swell next year with a good influx of cheerleaders from the junior high program.
“The middle school team is really stacked,” Coor said.
“They don’t take off points because you have a small team, so I don’t think only 10 kids hurt us. Coor said. The Panthers lost points for their motion and for not being loud enough. She said the comments on the score sheet regarding motion were for what they were “doing with their arms and arm placement.” Medomak also had one small bobble, where a pyramid came down early.
Medomak cheerleaders have worked very hard in recent years improving their tumbling skills, and now have 100 percent of the team tumbling, something Coor is very proud of.
Coor said if her young team can fix the “other stuff” they should be in great shape to contend at Regionals. With all the snow days and water problems, Coor figures she has lost 20 hours of practice time this season.
“It has been a tough season,” she said. “We have had a couple of injuries as well with kids out for a couple of weeks,” and grade ineligibility has also affected the Panther routine and gelling of the team.
Coor is optimistic, adding, “Just this week they started to pull together. I was extremely pleased” with how they performed at KVACs.
Medomak team members include juniors Alyssa Ducharme, Shania Melvin, Paige Russell, Olivia Ryan, and Ashlee Wilson; sophomores Hannah Wile, Amanda Poland, Cassie Dever, and Stephanie Hill; and freshmen Whitney Dow, Hannah Smith, and Courtney Ducharme.
There were 11 teams competing at KVAC’s. Scoring is as follows: 1. Gardiner 128.3, 2. Medomak 123.2, Leavitt 122.3, Erskine 104.4, Mt.View 97.7, Waterville 92.2, Nokomis 90.6, Morse 83.2, Winslow 75.4, Oceanside 71.3, and Lincoln Academy 61.4.
Lincoln’s team consists of all freshmen and sophomores. Coach Danielle Feltis knew going in that her young team was not ready to be competitive, having just finished their routine the day before.
Feltis brought the team so they could see the level of competition and gain experience.
