By Angela Watts
Assistant General Manager, Washington D.C.
** Click the links to the left, above the video, to access a photo gallery and video highlights of all eight cheer performances. Also, look below the story for a full list of the all-Northern Region honorees.
The Stone Bridge cheer website opens with an “SB” embedded inside a traditional Superman logo.
First-year cheer coach Nick Marchio, a Bulldog and Virginia Tech cheerleading alumnus, also carried around a stuffed Superman that stuck halfway out of his backpack during Saturday’s Northern Region championships held at Robinson.
Both signs, it seems, proved more than fitting.
The top-seeded Bulldogs indeed performed like Supergirls on Saturday, winning their second Northern Region title in the past four years with a final-round score of 261.5. Stone Bridge did so by rallying from a less-than-perfect routine in the preliminary round that led to seven points being deducted from their total score — the second-highest deduction of the eight competing teams.
Still, the Bulldogs were the top seed entering the final round, and received zero deductions on their final performance.
“It’s amazing, it really is,” Marchio said. “The girls really sold it today. We went out there and had some bobbles in the first round, but we came out in the second round and we just nailed it. The energy in the air today during the second round was just amazing. I was really proud of them.”
Added junior all-Northern Region selection Shelly Cross, one of the Bulldogs’ best tumblers: “I’m so excited! Because I’m a junior, I’ve never won a regional title before. It’s just so exciting to redeem ourselves and get back that regional trophy. This was a huge competition for us.”
And while Stone Bridge, which has won three state titles since the school opened in 2000, finished well-clear of its final round competitors — it finished 11.5 points better than region runner-up Fairfax — the region’s other three Virginia AAA state qualifiers placed within two points of each other.
Fairfax totaled 250 points, followed by Centreville (248) and West Springfield (246). All four Northern Region representatives will compete in the state meet at VCU’s Siegel Center in Richmond on Saturday.
Fairfax entered the competition ranked second after last week’s semifinal round, but slipped to third following the preliminary round on Saturday. But the Rebels responded in the final round, adding seven points to its total to finish as the region runner-up.
“I’m so proud of the kids,” Fairfax Coach Wes Vaughan said. “We haven’t been a huge contender for about 10 years, but we did go to states two years ago and it was the best experience for them. We’re very pumped to be going back.”
Centreville and West Springfield overcame even larger odds, moving up from a fifth and sixth-place semifinal seeding, respectively, to earn a berth in the final round. In doing so, the Wildcats and Spartans knocked defending Northern Region and Virginia AAA champion Chantilly out of the region — and upcoming state — competition.
“They kept calling teams … and they kept not calling us!” said Centreville Coach Tootie Rivera, whose team was finally announced to have the second-highest scoring total after the preliminary round. “We were like, ‘Oh my God!’ Honestly, I never expected us to be that high up in the first round. But when we did that, it made me so very proud of the girls for all the hard work they’ve put in. They really wanted to make sure that whatever they did, they did it with confidence, and that they came away knowing they had done their best … and they did.
“My girls are just excited to be going to states, understand, because it’s been about seven years since Centreville went to states. So for them to make it there this year … they are so excited.”
Chantilly, Herndon, Langley and Madison all advanced to the Northern Region finale but each was eliminated after Saturday’s preliminary round. The other four teams then performed their routines — which are an action-packed and vastly difficult threes minutes of cheers, dance, stunts and tumbling — a second time to determine the final standings. The first-round scores from Saturday’s competition did not carry over to the final round.
West Springfield was at a disadvantage in the final round because senior Erin Mackie suffered an injury during the preliminary routine. She still competed in the finals, but was unable to do all of her usual tricks.
“She did a great job marking the routine in the final, meaning she couldn’t tumble or jump but she still did the stunts,” Spartans’ Coach Betsy Fawsett said. “I’m so impressed and so proud of the way they pulled it off. We’re a young team with only three seniors, so going to states three years in a row … life is great.”
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com
Round 1 Results
Stone Bridge 251; Centreville 246.5; Fairfax 243; West Springfield 240.5; Chantilly 239; Langley 221.5; Madison 200.5.
Round 2 Results
Stone Bridge 261.5; Fairfax 250; Centreville 248; West Springfield 246.
*Note: Videos show the Round 2 performances of the Top 4 cheer squads and the first-round performances of the other four teams.
All-Northern Region Team
Ashton Barlow, Falls Church; Ashley Brigham, West Springfield; Ben Carroll, Herndon; Valeria Cartagena, Fairfax; Cindy Choi, Lake Braddock; Melissa Clubb, Centreville; Shelly Cross, Stone Bridge; Lauren Doss, Oakton; Olivia Hathaway, Chantilly; Daneille Lee, Langley; Bria Mitchell, Westfield; Katie O’Rourke, Stuart; Carli Perrin, West Springfield; Nicole Pontanilla, Stone Bridge; Mariah Rivera, Centreville; Megan Robinson, Mount Vernon; Valerie Rubenstein, Stone Bridge; Yesle Soh, Fairfax; Colby Streb, Chantilly; Lauren Sullivan, Herndon.
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