AUGUSTA — Lewiston left itself a high ceiling for Monday’s regional cheerleading championship.
One week earlier, the Blue Devils struggled through a three-minute routine that was well below its own standards, even as they won their program’s seventh consecutive KVAC title on the same Augusta Civic Center floor.
Consider the roof raised and the ceiling smashed to smithereens.
Performing with the boundless energy, ebullient personality and nearly flawless execution the crowds have come to expect, Lewiston locked up its sixth successive Class A East crown.
Lewiston finished with 158.8 of a possible 175 points, enjoying a much more comfortable margin over Bangor (149.6) than at KVACs, where the Rams would have dethroned the Devils if not for a penalty deduction.
“Hitting a clean routine. That was the goal for tonight,” Lewiston coach Lynnette Morency said. “It still wasn’t clean. Cleaner, but not cleanest. They’ve got more in them. We’re going to work on a lot more little stuff between now and states.”
Tia Cortes and Andrea Bonin are the only two seniors for Lewiston, which will bid for its seventh state title in 13 years Saturday, Feb. 7 in Augusta.
“People think it comes easy for us, but it doesn’t come easy at all,” Cortes said. “We kill ourselves at practice every single time to get where we need to get.”
A different brand of tradition continued in Class C West, where Dirigo — a school known for its recent hold over regional and state hardware in so many sports — hoisted the regional cheering trophy for the first time.
“It’s been kind of a long time coming,” Dirigo coach Melissa Carrier said. “We had to rebuild it for quite a few years. This year at the beginning of the season I knew I had a very talented team. They’ve been working very, very hard.”
Medomak Valley repeated as Class B West champion, overcoming 10 points worth of deductions to edge Leavitt by a half-point.
Five other local schools will join Lewiston, Dirigo and Leavitt in the state meet: Oxford Hills in Class A East; Gray-New Gloucester in Class B West; and Monmouth, Lisbon and Mountain Valley in Class C West.
Lewiston had its streak of three consecutive Class A state championships snapped a year ago. The Devils rebounded by winning their third unanswered New England crown
“Every year, no matter where you fall the year before, I mean we got fourth (in states) last year, and the pressure was still on us to come out and put on a show and to hit,” Morency said. “They’re doing well. I just keep telling them, hit this darn routine and see where the score will take you. It’s there. It’s in the routine, but you’ve got to execute it. They’ll get there.”
The Devils avoided the drops and disconnections that plagued their performance at the conference showcase.
“We didn’t lose last time, but I feel like the stunts coming down made us realize that we can’t drop anymore,” Bonin said. “None of us were happy with our win last time. I feel like today was a lot different, because we came in and knew we needed to hit, and we did.”
Whether you look at it from the perspective of weeks, months, or years, Dirigo has been knocking on the door of a competition cheerleading championship.
Two past regional runner-up finishes. Fifth, good enough to qualify for the state meet, with much of its current team in place a year ago. Second, sidetracked only by a dropped stunt and a five-point deduction, in the recent Mountain Valley Conference meet.
It all came together Monday, launching a celebration that so many the stick-and-ball teams at their school know so well.
“We’ve just worked so hard throughout the season,” sophomore tri-captain McKayla O’Brian said. “I think that it all paid off today.”
Dirigo scored 126.8 points on a scale of 175. Deduction-proof, as it turned out. Madison was more than six points back in second at 120.6.
The Cougars finished second at regionals in both 2004 and 2010, the latter Carrier’s first season at the helm. They have been oft overshadowed, however, in a Class C division where St. Dom’s, Lisbon, Monmouth and Madison have taken their turns as a powerhouse.
“Our difficulty level was definitely higher than in the past,” Carrier said. “I had a lot more girls that could tumble and do the necessary things.
Two other factors, experience and choreography, helped vault the Cougars over the top.
Ten juniors and four seniors highlight the 19-member squad, which also has a male athlete, football and baseball player Barry Campbell.
Out-sourcing the music and dance portion of their program saved time that could be devoted to the challenging stunts, instead.
“This is our first year having a choreographer, which helped us,” senior tri-captain Kayla Perry said. “We learned our routine at the beginning of the year rather than after.”
Not even the two-day delay for Saturday’s storm disrupted Dirigo’s momentum entering the meet. In fact, it might have helped.
“It gave us a little extra day to practice, because there was no snow where we were,” Carrier said. “They hit everything the best I’ve ever seen their routine. It felt really great. They are all so excited to be here.”
Biddeford and Marshwood have dominated Class A West in recent years, but it was the Gorham Rams (146.2) edging the reigning state champion Tigers (144.2) for the title.
Medomak Valley finished with 133.1 to Leavitt’s 132.6. Wells, Morse, Lake Region and Gray-NG rounded out the top six.
Oxford Hills took fourth place in Class A East.
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