BANGOR — In front of its home crowd, Bangor won its first Class A cheering state championship, beating four-time defending champ Lewiston and perennial contender Biddeford.
Central Aroostook won its fifth straight Class D title and 10th in 11 years at Cross Insurance Center on Saturday. The Panthers edged Penobscot Valley, which has now finished second three years in a row.
The Class A state championship has been dominated by Lewiston and Biddeford for the past decade, with the Blue Devils winning six out of seven, and the Tigers winning three straight from 2008-10 before breaking up a Lewiston streak in 2014. On Saturday, however, the two powerhouses played second (and third) fiddle to the hometown Rams, who scored 93.8 points to easily beat Lewiston (88.4) and Biddeford (87.1).
“I think it’s extra special winning in Bangor,” Bangor co-coach Kate Robichaud said. “I think it’s extra special to have the fan base this time. Typically we don’t have this type of a turnout, so it was just awesome.”
Biddeford coach Deb Lebel, who got to watch some of Bangor’s routine before her team finished up the competition, said the Rams “were as clean as a whistle.”
And that’s what it took for the Rams to finally climb the Class A mountaintop.
“That’s the best performance that they possibly could have done, the best performance that I’ve seen them do all season,” Robichaud said. “They saved it for the state championship, which is perfect.”
Robichaud said her program has watched Lewiston’s dominance for years and tried to emulate what the Blue Devils have done on the mat.
“I think that we’ve finally gotten to the point where we are able to do those skills,” she said.
The combination of those skills and that cleanliness was what it took to finally dethrone the Blue Devils.
“(Our girls) did well,” Lewiston assistant coach Jennifer LaBonte said. “I think that they did the best that they could today, but they have more in them.
“I think that there’s always a big expectation because of who we are, and the pressure is a lot, and these kids are dealing with a lot, and there’s always more under the surface than what is shown out there, that they’re dealing with.”
LaBonte said the team will “let go of today and figure out what to do with New Englands.”
CLASS B/C
Repeating as champions is no easy task in high school cheering.
Hermon made it look that way earlier this decade in Class B, and Lisbon was hoping to do the same thing in Class C this year.
The Hawks accomplished that goal, winning back-to-back B state titles, but the Greyhounds were denied the same feat in C, edged out by the Central team they beat for the title last year.
The Red Devils, of Corinth, lost by about two points to to Lisbon last year. Saturday, it was the Greyhounds who were a small margin short, with their score of 71.6 not enough to jump Central’s 72.2 score.
“They did exactly what I asked them to do,” Lisbon coach Nicole Adams said. “They should be extremely proud. Their score went up again, which is our goal every competition. Keep raising your score, hit clean, and that’s what they did.”
Central’s state title was its first since 2014.
Sumner, of Sullivan, was third, followed by Mattanawcook, Sacopee Valley and Monmouth in sixth.
While the Class C scores were close, Hermon outdistanced Ellsworth for the Class B title. The Hawks had a score of 83.5, with the Eagles just edging third-place Medomak Valley for second, 77.5 to 77.3.
Old Town finished fourth in Class B, followed by Gray-New Gloucester and Leavitt.
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