By MATT DiFILIPPO
Staff Writer Tuesday, January 16, 2007

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enlarge Staff photo by Jim Evans

The Lawrence High School cheerleaders, above, kick and fly during the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference cheerleading championships Monday at the Augusta Civic Center. Brittany ``Pip'' Beaulieu, below left, is sent high into the air by her Cony High School teammates during their routine, while Waterville's Ashley Perry, below right, goes head over heels during the Purple Panthers' performance. Hear, see more of the action

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What they saw over four hours of competition were several teams which can contend for a spot in the state championships. Edward Little won the Class A title with 151.2 points in the final round, while Rockland repeated as Class B champion with a score of 121.2.

The local teams also had impressive performances. Lawrence finished third in Class A at 142.3, ahead of fourth-place Cony and just one-tenth of a point behind second-place Lewiston. Oak Hill took second in Class B with 116.1 points, while Waterville placed third.

Oak Hill has become a perennial factor at cheering competitions, and the Raiders were coming off a season in which they made callbacks at the state championships for the first time. On Monday, Oak Hill scored 116.5 in the first round, and the Raiders' coaches felt the team hit the routine even better in the second round, although the scores did not reflect that.

None of the Class B schools had the maximum allowable number of 18 cheerleaders, but Oak Hill was definitely helped by having 10 tumblers on its 14-person roster. The cheerleading scoresheets have been altered this season to encourage more difficulty in tumbling, but Roy said she felt her team was solid in that area, anyway.

The Raiders used a routine which was heavy on 80s music, but also included songs like Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" and Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire."

"I (choose songs) with the girls," Oak Hill coach Angela Roy said. "We sit down and decide what we want to use. They usually have about 20 songs they like and we go from there."

Cony coach Carrie Lasselle isn't sure when the Rams last made it to states, but it was apparently a number of years ago. Cony now has a chance to get there after finishing in the top four at KVACs. The Eastern A regionals, which will be held Jan. 27 at the Augusta Civic Center, include the KVAC teams and Bangor, Brewer, Hampden, Nokomis and Old Town.

"The chance is there," Lasselle said. "We know what needs to be perfected and tweaked between now and the 27th. They're a lot of little things. We're not a strong tumbling team, so we have to be strong everywhere else."

Cony's routine had a weather theme (including "Rock You Like a Hurricane" by the Scorpions and "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls) and was highlighted by an unusual sequence involving petite senior tri-captain Pip Beaulieu. In the sequence, Beaulieu was placed atop a pyramid and then tossed in the air three times like a doll. Cony went from a 107.6 in the first round to 113.5 at callbacks.

"They did everything that they knew to do," said Lasselle, who specifically wanted to make sure that the judges approved of the stunt involving Beaulieu before the Rams tried to use it at regionals. "They left it all on the floor. Heart and soul was in it."

Matt DiFilippo -- 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com