Cheerleading

WILL YURMAN Jessica Storto, 17, jokes with her Romulus teammates as they wait for results of the competition to be announced.

WILL YURMAN Sarah Eddy, a junior at Batavia Notre Dame, reacts as she hears the judges announce Fillmore as the second-place team in Class DD, which made Notre Dame the champions.

By Bob Chavez
Democrat and Chronicle

(Sunday, February 3, 2002) -- Once upon a time, kings danced.

Saturday, it was their dancing that crowned the Kings as champions.

Bishop Kearney got the step it needed in the dance portion of Saturday's Section V cheerleading championships, and it vaulted the Kings past three-time defending champion Wayland-Cohocton for the Class B title at Blue Cross Arena at the Community War Memorial.

Kearney won 341-340, the point coming in the dance routine where it beat the Eagles, 192-191.

Make no mistake, both squads were solid.

"Wayland-Cohocton is good," Kearney senior Angela DiGuardi said. "But I was confident coming off the floor. I knew this had to be it."

The Kings and Eagles matched each other cheer for cheer, but the Kings got their dancing edge with more stunts.

"We had a little more technical skill in our routine," Kearney coach Mary Anne Walker said. "We took a little more risk."

Wayland-Cohocton coach Rose Fox did not disagree.

"We had three fulls and four tosses," she said. "But they had more stunting. My guess is maybe that's what it came down to."

DiGuardi's job isn't to analyze, but to cheer. She and her teammates did that well enough Saturday to celebrate with as much authority as they nailed Saturday's routines.

"I can't be happier," she said. "I've been on varsity since I was a sophomore and this is the first winter sectional title for me. I couldn't even tell you how my heart started to beat when I heard we won."

Hearts were beating quickly and furiously in the Class AA competition, where Rush-Henrietta edged Brockport and Greece Athena for its first winter title. The top three finished within five points of each other, but the Royal Comets were on top with 333 points.

"We're loud and exciting," Rush-Henrietta senior Hailey Marlowe said of her team's strong point, the cheer. "We put our heart into it. It's important because when you put your heart into it, there's only one place you want to end up and that's winning."

In Class A, Aquinas complemented its fall championship with Saturday's title. It's the first time in school history the Little Irish have done that.

"Cheerleading is their obsession," Aquinas coach Melissa Masters said. "This is what they work for."

Senior Ashley Borrelli said her team stresses the attitude that it "pays to be different."

"We have heart," she said. "We put emotion into it."

Livonia finished sixth in Class B, but still drew plenty of attention, and cheers. More boys are seen on cheerleading squads these days, and the Bulldogs took the floor Saturday with eight.

"I've always been interested in it," Livonia junior Mike Paciorek said. "I've taken dance before."

Section V Cheerleading

at Blue Cross Arena

CLASS AA

Rush-Henrietta 333, Brockport 330, Greece Athena 328, Webster 324, Gates Chili 321, Penfield 297. Coach of the Year: Theresa Neidert (Brockport), Nancy Saxton Leadership Award: Victoria Mosetta (Rush-Henrietta).

CLASS A

Hilton 339, Greece Olympia 329, Canandaigua 323, Greece Arcadia 322, Irondequoit 317, Spencerport 294, Marshall 244. COTY: Laurie Miller (Hilton), NSLA: Natalie Burritt (Hilton).

CLASS BB

Aquinas 338, Victor 336, Geneva 324, Eastridge 315, Honeoye Falls-Lima 304, Palmyra-Macedon 294, Pittsford Mendon 292, Pittsford Sutherland 284, Newark 276, Wayne 274, Midlakes 251. COTY: Pamela Palmer (Honeoye Falls-Lima), NSLA: Rena Cocilova (Aquinas).

CLASS B

Bishop Kearney 341, Wayland-Cohocton 340, Dansville 329, Hornell 310, Marcus Whitman 304, Livonia 299, Penn Yan 256, Waterloo 251, Bath Haverling 225, Nazareth 219. COTY: Rose Fox (Wayland-Cohocton), NSLA: Angela DiGuardi (Bishop Kearney).

CLASS CCC

Le Roy 322, Caledonia-Mumford 311, Holley 310, Greece Odyssey 309, Letchworth 306, Williamson 304, Sodus 274. COTY: Betsy Cavallaro (Williamson), NSLA: Alisha Worley (Le Roy).

CLASS CC

Perry 345, East Rochester 333, Avon 320, Warsaw 319, Keshequa 304, Lyons 269, York 267, Pavilion 256, Marion 247, Bloomfield 245, Clyde-Savannah 227, Cuba-Rushford 222. COTY: Robin Bull (Perry), NSLA: Heather Mollnow (Perry).

CLASS C

Geneseo 331, Honeoye 324, Gananda 309, Alexander 307, Red Jacket 298, South Seneca 287, Campbell-Savona 265, Oakfield-Alabama 250, Dundee 247. COTY: Joanne Small (Geneseo), NSLA: Shari Mills (Geneseo).

CLASS DD

Batavia Notre Dame 323, Fillmore 314, Avoca 302, Mount Morris 288, Arkport 287, Canisteo 281, Romulus 280, C. G. Finney 276, Genesee Valley 261, Alfred Almond 241, Hammondsport 211. COTY: Michelle Levey (Mount Morris), NSLA: Brandi Callahan (B-ND).

CLASS D

Belfast 312, Bradford 281, Prattsburgh 279, Canaseraga 277, Whitesville 263, Geneva-DeSales 254, Andover 238, Greenwood 238. COTY: Marianne Piscitelli (DeSales), NSLA: Tina Seamon (Belfast).