Rochester came from behind to win their 10th state title, but a seasoned Lake Orion squad expects to give their rivals a run for their money next year.
A Dragon team with just eight graduating seniors finished ninth overall with a score of 677.8, just over 30 points back of the champs, at the state finals on March 11 in Grand Rapids.
‘Overall I was pleased,? said coach Nancy DeAvila. ‘The girls seemed nervous at first, but we performed well.?
‘All in all it was a great day for our program,? she added.
The team scored 183, 198.8 and 296 points in the first, second and third rounds, respectively.
The scores were a bit lower than in recent weeks, but DeAvila said that is to be expected at the state finals, where the judging gets considerably tougher.
DeAvila credited her senior leadership for making the season a successful one, but noted that almost half of the team’s 35 members are juniors.
‘We’re really stacked with a lot of juniors, so my goal was to get this team to the state finals,? she said, noting the atmosphere of that competition, which includes television cameras, is quite different from the regular competitions.
‘You have no idea what it’s like until you get there and experience it for yourself,? she said.
The coach said the team accomplished its goal of getting to the state finals because of their good training and conditioning before and during the season.
‘It was one of our best seasons,? DeAvila said. ‘Our goal was to get better each week of the season.?
They certainly accomplished that goal and DeAvila said the team is already excited about next year.