The Mariners start their routine in style at the Class D Regional Championships January 26 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. By Anne Berleant
Bangor—The Deer Isle-Stonington High School cheerleading squad leapt to a fifth-place finish in the Class D North/South Regional Cheerleading Championships Saturday, January 26, at the Cross Insurance Center, earning 51 points out of a possible 100 and a berth at the state competition January 9 in Augusta. Central Aroostook won the regional title with 75.3 points and Penobscot Valley placed second with 67.9 points.
“[The team] felt great about what they left on the floor,” Coach Amber Jones said.
The Mariner cheerleaders celebrate their state championship-qualifying finish at the Class D regionals January 26 at the Cross Insurance Center. By Anne Berleant
The Mariners improved their score about 10 points from their showing at the Penobscot Valley Conference Championships one week earlier.
Since then, the team worked on their routine and incorporating more stunts. The judges noticed, awarding them 12 points out of a possible 25, five points more than they earned at the PVCs.
“The pyramid we performed was better than [we] ever have, so that was awesome,” Jones said.
The Mariners also saw an 8.5 point overall increase from the 2018 regional competition, their first under Jones’s leadership.
Jones hopes to work more on stunts, using notes from the judges from the regional competition, in the two weeks leading up to the states, and her team is right behind her.
“They were all talking about what they want to improve on. Working together and working hard were among the things talked about on the bus ride back to the island,” Jones said.
The Deer Isle-Stonington High School Mariner cheerleaders show their spirit at the Class D Regional Championships January 26 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. By Anne Berleant
Judges award points in four equal categories: tumbling, stunts, pyramids and jumps/dance. The Mariners earned 14.6 out of 25 points for pyramids, 13.4 points for jumps/dance, 11 points for tumbling and 12 points for partner stunts.
“We plan to work hard to improve and sharpen up even more,” Jones said. “One big motivator was that they were only four points off from third place, and 0.1 [point] from fourth. They want to increase skills but still go in looking sharp and clean. As always, that’s more important than throwing in skills they aren’t ready for.”
The Mariners improved their stunts score from seven points at the January 19 Penobscot Valley Conference Championships to 12 points at the Class D Regional Championships one week later. By Anne Berleant
The Mariners keep up their spirit while waiting for results at the Class D Regional Championships January 26 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. By Anne Berleant