HERMON – Two Penobscot Valley Conference high school cheerleading powerhouses shook off disappointing preliminary round performances and came through with huge finishes at Saturday’s PVC championships.

The teams from Old Town and Brewer high schools each had an uncharacteristic fall in that first round but regained their poise when it counted.

More than 1,500 spectators watched in the Hermon High gym as the Indians, who were in second place after the prelims, were nearly perfect in the finals and racked up 80.5 points for their third straight conference crown.

Brewer, which just squeaked into the finals, picked up its third runner-up title in a row with 77.5 points.

Houlton and John Bapst of Bangor each scored 74 points. Caribou had 73.5 points, Ellsworth finished with 72.5, and Bangor scored a 67.

Fourteen PVC teams in Classes A and B participated in the championships. The teams with the best seven scores in the preliminary rounds were called back to the finals.

Old Town is known for consistently hitting the right combination of steady and clean routines with difficult moves and the little flourishes that judges love. But a stunt that collapsed early in their prelim routine dropped them one point behind Bangor going into the finals.

The Indians looked much more like themselves in the final. The flyers looked steady on their stunts and landings, the tumbling passes were well-timed and synchronized, and the different moves flowed well.

“The second time out we did it so well that we didn’t care what place we finished,” said Old Town senior Kailee Bradstreet, who sprained her ankle on the fall in the prelims but came back to perform in the finals. “We were so happy with our performance.”

Other Old Town team members are Valerie Dionne, Kim Hamel, Angela Madden, Miranda Parsons, Avril Williams, Rachel Clukey, Meghann Foster, Ashley Hogan, Cassie Madden, Whitney Randall, Jeni Cunningham, Stacey Goodspeed, Heather Locke, Cheri McDonald, Amanda Shields, Sasha Cook-Coghill and Jessica Ford.

Brewer turned what could have been a disappointing effort into the runner-up finish. First, the Witches had a fall in their preliminary routine, which dropped them to the seventh and last spot in the finals.

Then, in the final, their tape of music was paused in the wrong spot and there were a few seconds of awkward silence as the audio operators tried to get it back in the right place.

Luckily the team kept its composure – with some support from coach Kristie Reed on the side – and completed a clean routine.

“After prelims, knowing we were seventh, we decided that wasn’t good enough for us and we wanted it bad enough,” Brewer senior Samantha Floyd said. “So we decided to do it, and we did it.”

Caribou’s William Paul was a fan favorite Saturday, as he stuck a tumbling pass with a twist on the landing in both the prelims and finals.

Central wins C-D crown

At Piscataquis High in Guilford, the Central of East Corinth cheerleading team scored 67 points, edging the Orono and Sumner squads for the Class C-D PVC championship.

The Red Devils earned second place last year.

Team members include Kristen Connolly, Tawyna Crosby, Kari Cummings, Samantha Daniel, Jessica Dunham, Amanda Young, Nichole Harvey, Katrina Pariseau, Caitlin Kekacs, Samantha York, Jill Sullivan, Renee Trafton, Erin Hartley, Jessica Fenn, Jessica Mason, and Emma Gray.

The Red Riots and the Tigers of East Sullivan tied for second place with 65.5 points. Of the rest of the teams to make the finals, Mattanawcook of Lincoln was fourth with 59 points, Dexter finished with 57 points, Stearns of Millinocket had 52 and Penobscot Valley of Howland earned 51.

Eleven teams took part in the competition. Piscataquis athletic director Larry Holmquist estimated there were about 1,000 spectators.