Medomak Valley cheerleaders placed third in the state Class B cheering championships in Bangor on Saturday, Feb. 10. (Paula Roberts photo)
For the second straight year, the Medomak Valley cheerleaders placed third at the state Class B cheering championships, held at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. Hermon successfully defended its 2017 title with 83.5 points. Since 2007, Hermon has won nine of 12 state cheering titles, including seven of the last eight.
Ellsworth placed second with 77.5 points and Medomak Valley third with 77.3 points. Neither Ellsworth nor Medomak has ever won a state championship in cheering. Old Town was fourth with 72.8 points, followed by Gray-New Gloucester 64.4, Leavitt 64.3, Morse 58.6, Mt. Valley 62.7, Gardiner 57.5, Erskine 56.4, MDI 57.2, and Spruce Mountain 55.3.
Medomak had the necessary difficulty in its routine, but needed perfect execution to pull off an upset over the Hawks. A nasty virus ran rampant through the Panther squad in the two weeks leading up to states, and devastated their practices. In the past two weeks, Medomak was only able to practice its full routine once, due to depleted numbers.
“That is not enough,” Medomak coach Heather Simmons said. Of their performance, she said it was “not what you would like to see at a state championship.” She added that illness was “obviously” a factor in their performance.
Regional sportsmanship banners were given out after the performances, with Waterville gathering the North B award and Spruce Mountain the South B award.
Cheering for Medomak Valley were Cheyanne Greene, Mariah Grindle, Ashley Kenniston, Grace Kurr, Samantha Pelkey, Katie Ryan, Cassandra Smeltzer, Michaela Staples, Adrianna Wadsworth, Leah Wilcox, Ashley Winchenbach, and Megan Wright.
Class C results
Two Lincoln County cheering squads qualified to compete in the state Class C championships, Wiscasset and Boothbay Region. The Wolverines placed eighth with 56.6 points and the Seahawks 12th with 49.8.
“I am just so proud of them,” Wiscasset coach Kim Dodge said. “They have worked super hard all season. They had to give up a lot to cheer. They had to put their jobs and friends on hold. I am just super proud of them.”
Cheering for Wiscasset were Alyssa Bassett, Corey Campbell, Chriss Easter, Vanessa Dunn, Cedric Loyola, Kaitlyn Main, August Moore, Justine Murphy, Hannah Pinkham, Shannon James, Ayanna Stover, Madyson Swain, and Brooke Thayer.
Cheering for Boothbay Region were Hayden Brewer, Kaitlyn Dube, Natalie Gosselin, Brooke Harmon, Kayla Lewis, Sierra Murray, Amaya Marston, Alexandra Nein, Zada Smith, and Lovely Uberita.
Central won its third state championship in seven years with a score of 72.7. Lisbon was second with 71.6, followed by Sumner 70.1, Mattanawcook 69.3, Sacopee Valley 67.2, Monmouth 66.8, Houlton 64.7, Wiscasset 56.6, Calais 56.5, Dirigo 54.8, Orono 49.9, and Boothbay 49.8.
Class C regional sportsmanship awards went to Mattanawcook in the North and Lisbon in the South.
