LINCOLN – Even championship teams get nervous sometimes.

For the John Bapst cheering team, singing helps. The Crusaders of Bangor will sing anything to pass the time – from Spice Girls songs to the ABCs – as they wait to get in formation while the judges finish their tallies from the previous routine.

“It takes so long to get on the floor that we have to find some way to not be nervous,” said senior Brianne Cowan.

It turned out John Bapst didn’t have much to worry about. Their two-round average of 128.5 points easily outdistanced the rest of the field in the Big East Conference Cheering Championships at Mattanawcook Academy’s gymnasium.

For the second week in a row, it was the same 1-2 finish as Hermon took runner-up honors Saturday with a 116.65 average. The Crusaders and Hawks were the top two teams in the Jan. 12 Penobscot Valley Conference Large School competition, too.

It was the second straight year that the Crusaders and Hawks went 1-2 in the two conference meets.

Caribou, coming off Friday night’s win in the Aroostook League Championships, placed third with a 114.05. The Vikings were followed by Ellsworth (111.65) and Old Town (111.5).

Eleven teams participated in the competition, in which each team performed twice and the scores were averaged to determine the final ranking.

Bapst didn’t just have a comfortable margin of victory. What was more important for the Crusaders was that they jumped up 7.75 points from last week’s average at PVCs.

So what was the difference?

“We changed a few things to make it harder, and we really made a point this week to sell our routine,” said Sheila Toomey, one of four Bapst seniors along with Cowan, Melissa Glifort and Kaili Quinn. “We had to have as much energy as possible and I think that really helped the whole routine.”

Bapst’s tweaks included small footwork changes to the routine’s first dance portion and the addition of more transition moves.

The Crusaders were steady as always, although they had a few stunts fall in both rounds. Still, their consistency was more than enough. Bapst, which is coached by Jen Babcock and Jessica Lawrence, had a 128.9 in the first round and a 128.5 in the second.

The rest of the Bapst team is made up of Lauren Dooman, Lauren Peavey, Alexandria Wright, Kali Shorey, Nikol Harris, Lauren Licata, Amber Weaver, Krysti Sanzaro, Alyssa Foley, Georgia Cartwright, Lauren Freeman, Kylie Thibodeau-Harvey and Kacy Thibodeau-Harvey.

Hermon, which averaged a 120.10 in PVCs, will add “a few more surprises,” according to coach Lisa Pratt, to its routine with the Eastern Maine championships coming up Saturday and states on Feb. 2.

Second-place finishes shouldn’t be a concern for the Hawks, who went on to win their first Class B state title last year after second-place finishes in conference and regional competitions earlier that season.

“We just need to bring it back,” Pratt said. “John Bapst is a great team and we need to do better. Any competition is good, but the big show is next week and the bigger show is [in two weeks.] We’re definitely going to amp it up one more time, and hope for the best.”

Old Town’s fifth-place finish was commendable considering one of the Coyotes’ bases suffered an injury during the first round. Not only did the team finish their routine after a stoppage, but Old Town came back with some adjustments in the second round – the Coyotes had just two stunt groups without the injured cheerleader, who watched the second round with her right knee wrapped.

Next up for the Big East teams will be the Eastern Maine championships at the Bangor Auditorium. The Class B competition begins at 9 a.m. followed by Class D at 12:25 p.m. and Class C at 3:45 p.m.

The Eastern Maine Class A championships will be held at the Augusta Civic Center Saturday starting at 5:40 p.m. Before the regional, however, the EM Class A teams will compete at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championships at 10 a.m. Monday at the Augusta Civic Center.

jbloch@bangordailynews.net

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