Something to cheer about: Brandon emerging as state power
TALL ORDER: Ortonville Brandon will be gunning for its fourth straight top five state-finals finish Saturday at the Grand Rapids DeltaPlex. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
ORTONVILLE — It is safe to say that Ortonville Brandon’s competitive cheer team is fast rising.
In only a few short years, the Blackhawks have emerged as a state powerhouse in Division 2.
“I think we have come a long ways in the past few years,” admitted Brandon coach Jamie slot. “I know the girls understand the hard work that needs to be put into it in order to be successful.”
In a sport such as competitive cheer, there’s plenty of athleticism needed in order to compete at the highest levels. And with schools in all four divisions raising the bar each year with creativity and degree of difficulty, Brandon has been able to stay above the curve.
The Blackhawks have won five straight Flint Metro League championships, the longest streak since the FML adopted the sport. Brandon has also won Division 2 district crowns all four years that the MHSAA has instituted a district round, including this season.
The Blackhawks, who have won two other invitational crowns and have consistently finished in the top at various tournaments all winter, are set for their fifth straight state finals. Brandon, one of five state-ranked teams in the regional, added another state finals berth last Saturday at the Gibraltar Carlson regional, where the Blackhawks were fourth (762.0992) in the 12-school field.
Brandon’s state success if mostly in just recent years, as it was seventh in the state in 2008, the first year the Blackhawks qualified for the MHSAA state finals. The team had qualified years ago in the old MCCA competition, a separate tournament that is no longer around.
Brandon scored 703.8560 points that season at the finals and has seen those scores consistently go up each year.
“That’s always the goal, to peak at the end of the season and try to do better than the year before,” offered Slot, who has a nice mix of upper and underclassmen on her roster. “We have been very successful the past four years and we hope to be again this year at the state finals.”
The Blackhawks were seventh at the Division 2 state finals in 2008, scoring 703.8560 points in the three-round competition. They followed that up by placing fifth at the state meet in 2009 (775.0312), 2010 (792.5500) and 2011 (797.2632).
Brandon would love nothing more than to equal or better that effort at this weekend’s Division 2 state finals.
The Division 2 event will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids. Division 1 will be at 6 p.m. Friday, with Division 4 at 1 p.m. Saturday and Division 3 at 4 p.m. Saturday.
“We have set a standard here now and I know the girls would love to finish in the top five again,” said slot. “Can we finish higher? We’ll have to have a very good day. There are so many good teams there. Just being in the top five is an accomplishment.”
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FOR MORE COMPETITIVE CHEER COVERAGE: http://northoaklandsports.com/?s=Competitive+Cheer&x=6&y=10
* Have photos or video of this event that you wish to share? E-mail pertinent information to www.northoaklandsports.com Senior Editor Dan Stickradt at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com or e-mail results@northoaklandsports.com.
(To report varsity results, e-mail results@northoaklandsports.com or dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com )
Category: Featured Articles, High School, High School (M-Z), Most Recently Updated Stories, Ortonville Brandon, Prep Wraps, Top Stories, Uncategorized
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