AUGUSTA – Bangor High School cheerleaders, welcome to the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference.

Competing in their first-ever KVAC Class A competition, along with three other Class A squads, the Rams earned runner-up honors in Monday afternoon’s conference championships at the Augusta Civic Center.

Oxford Hills of South Paris scored 156.1 points to win the Class A championship in front of about 2,500 spectators and cheerleaders, while Oak Hill of Sabattus had 137.3 to take top honors in Class B. Rockland, the two-time defending KVAC B champ, was second with 132.5 points.

Brewer, the 2007 Class A state champion, finished third overall and Lawrence of Fairfield was fourth. Edward Little of Auburn and Lewiston were fifth and sixth, respectively.

In Class B, Waterville was third and Lincoln Academy of Newcastle took fourth place.

Those teams will be among the favorites heading into Saturday’s Eastern Maine championships.

For the KVAC competition each team – 16 in Class A and nine in Class B – performed its routine once with the top six in Class A and top four in Class B called back to the second round. The second-round scores determined the final ranking.

Bangor is new to the KVAC this year along with Brewer, Hampden and Nokomis of Newport.

“We really had no idea of what to expect,” said Kalee Gurshick, one of three Bangor senior captains along with Carlene Murdy and Stephanie Hosmer. “We didn’t want to go with anything difficult and we just wanted to get called back.”

The Rams had a first-round score of 135.7 points, good for fifth place. But once Bangor realized it was in the low end for tumbling scores because the whole team hadn’t tumbled in the first round, the Rams added a forward roll and increased their second-round score to 154.8 points.

“We did it right before [the second round], maybe five minutes before,” Hosmer said. “Confidence was key.”

The Vikings won their first Class A crown since 2003. They improved from a 140.9 in the first round.

“We just went out and performed better,” Oxford Hills coach Deborah Loveless said. “I think we were jittery the first time out. The girls were much better the second time.”

The Oxford Hills team members are Samantha Arsenault, Jessica Bernard, Chelsey Duguay, Chelsea Marshall, Shauni Newell, Valerie Sanborn, Tayla Baker, Katrina Burgess, Alexis Kennedy, Mandy Tierney, Orre-Ann Alexander, Kathryn Davis, Heather Olmstead, Jaidyn Rice, Whitney Rolfe, Fallon Turner, Kersten Curtis, Cady Day, Caitlyn Grant and Brittany McCaughin.

Kate Loveless, Deborah Loveless’ daughter and assistant and a former Old Town coach, said it was “great” to have the four new teams but that fact that the field for the Eastern Maine Class A meet will be the same as it was Monday takes away some of the surprise of the regional competition.

“I would prefer to have a KVAC North and South so we don’t have the same competition back to back,” she said. “Now it’s going to be the same exact teams and same exact routines.”

Brewer, which had a top first-round score of 148.1, improved to a 152.6 in the second round.

Coach Angela Roy’s Oak Hill lineup includes Janna Camardese, Miriah Dinwiddie, Stephanie Gauthier, Becca McIver, Chelsey Turcotte, Marsha Gustin, Margaret O’Connell, Kasey Anctil, Amber Chase, Kasey Miller, Sara Lacroix, Jennifer Newton and Dylan Richards.

The Raiders won their first conference title since 2005. Rockland has won every other KVAC championship since 2000.

Rockland led all Class B teams with a 135.1 in the first round and went up to a 137.5 in the second, but a five-point deduction during a stunt put the Tigers in second place.

Coach Becky Howard said the Tigers will work on the little things in their routine to prepare for Saturday’s regional championships.

“I think we’re just going to go back to getting everything very clean and adding more energy,” she said. “There’s only one round in [Eastern Maines], so it’s not like we can improve in the next round. It’s make or break.”

Messalonskee of Oakland and Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield won the Jamie Beth Shible Award in Class A and B, respectively. The award goes to the teams most improved from the previous years based on a percentage system.

jbloch@bangordailynews.net

990-8193

Cheering

KENNEBEC VALLEY ATHLETIC

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Class A

First Round

Brewer 148.1, Oxford Hills 140.9, Lawrence 140.3, Edward Little 139.1, Bangor 131.6, Lewiston 131.6, Hampden 122.0, Cony 108.6, Morse 106.7, Leavitt 100.6, Nokomis 100.6, Messalonskee 95.5, Skowhegan 95.1, Mount Ararat 91.4

Second Round

Oxford Hills 156.1, Bangor 154.8, Brewer 156.1, Lawrence 151.3, Edward Little 143.3, Lewiston 141.2

Class B

First Round

Rockland 135.1, Waterville 128.0, Oak Hill 125.8, Lincoln Academy 100.9, Erskine Academy 93.4, Maine Central Institute 87.6, Mount View 82.1, Winslow 75.1

Second Round

Oak Hill 137.3, Rockland 132.5, Waterville 131.7, Lincoln Academy 98.0