Staff Writer
CARIBOU – It’s all about energy for the Central Aroostook varsity cheerleading squad, according to their head coach Sami Allen. The Panther promoters tumbled and stunted their way to a third-place average after two rounds at the Aroostook League Cheerleading Championship at Caribou last Friday. Caribou took top honors followed by Houlton. Presque Isle followed CAHS.
The CAHS routine features music ranging from the 1980s to present-day, and much of the time is spent stunting. “Our routine is pretty much all stunts,” said Allen. “There are a lot of one-legged stunts, transitions and free throws. We have really focused on our stunts to make them close to perfection.”
Central Aroostook relies on their veteran coaching experience, Allen has 11 years of experience and assistant coach Danielle Doughty five years, and a core of six seniors. This year’s squad includes Michelle Tweedie, Shelby Hallett, Latisha Neece, Miranda Levesque, Shannon Michaud, Ashley Brewer, Kaila Foster, Rachael Donahue, Kassey LeClaire, Brittni Mosher, Sarah Michaud, Kyle Donahue and Ariel Nappi.
“The team is very dedicated and wants to practice more than we allow them to,” said Allen. “We are determined to do well.”
Allen believes Bangor Christian will bring the best competition to the mats at Eastern Maine Regionals this Saturday at Bangor.
The Presque Isle Wildcat cheering squad improved in the Big East competition last Saturday, and hope to put up even better scores at Eastern Maine.
“It’s really nice to have invitationals because regionals determine everything and we get really good feedback from judges,” said head coach Mandy Putnam. “So there are things we’ve changed.”
The Wildcat routine demonstrates, choreographed by Husson College cheering coach Buffy McCue, the athletic strength of this year’s team. “We worked a lot on conditioning,” commented Putnam. “There’s a lot of stunting and not much dancing.”
With only two seniors on the team, Putnam hopes the run-up competitions will stamp out the nerves of younger members and help them build their confidence. The roster includes seniors Angela Barnes and Hayley Ritchie; juniors Brittany Brown, Rachel Churchill, Courtney Cray, Jocelyn Davis, Brittany Duncan, Marissa Littlefield, Jordyn Madore, Rebekah Shaw, Jenna Watt and Autumn Whitaker; and sophomores Kaitlin Calabrese, Naimoi Donovan, Anna Harris, Lorraine Hughes, Jordyn Kinney, Mackenzie Lamoureaux, Bethany Lord and Haley McHatten.
The Wildcats improved their scores in all five categories (motion technique, jumps, tumbling, pyramid and partner stunts and dance) at the Big East on Saturday. They will perform once this coming Saturday among 19 Class B schools.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson
MICHELLE TWEEDIE of CAHS at Friday’s cheering competition in Caribou.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson
STRIKING A POSE, Wildcat cheerleader Autumn Whittaker performs in the Aroostook League cheering competition last Friday.
