Just as they had done throughout the winter, the Cicero-North Syracuse cheerleading squad turned back all challengers – but this time, it delivered, for the Northstars, a Section III Class AA championship.
More than two dozen teams made their way to Chittenango High School on Saturday, vying for sectional honors. The largest division was in Class AA, with eight teams ready to go through their routines one more time.
C-NS knew the challenge would come from the likes of West Genesee and Fayetteville-Manlius, and responded to the pressure with a routine that gave them a total of 104.3 points, the best in any of the five classes.
That total was needed, too. West Genesee and F-M both did well, with the Wildcats earning 97.3 points to edge the Hornets (97.2 points) by just one-tenth of a point for second place. Liverpool found itself in fifth place, with 73.8 points, trailing Baldwinsville (79.6 points), who was fourth.
In the other divisions, Phoenix blazed to the Class B championship with 98.0 points, with Hannibal (84.3 points) holding off South Jefferson (83.2 points) for second place.
Host Chittenango needed 81.8 points to pull away from Central Valley Academy (74.3 points) and win the Class A sectional title. Bishop Grimes delivered an impressive 93.0 points and rolled past Sandy Creek (80.4 points) to win Class C as Copenhagen, with 85.8 points, won Class D honors over Oriskany (82.5 points) and others.
C-NS will compete in a regional competition March 7 in Rochester, and start working toward 2015-16, which culminates in the first-ever New York State Public High School Athletic Association cheerleading championships, to take place at Onondaga Community College’s SRC Arena.
