3 'solid' rounds, 3 league titles for Marysville cheer
After earning a high score and achieving a two-year goal in round one, the Marysville competitive cheer team knew it’d be a good night.
But how good?
Well, the Vikings broke their own school record and won their third-straight league title on Monday, boosting the girls’ confidence as they prepare for the approaching postseason.
“It just seems like everything’s coming together at the right time,” head coach Laura Dodd said. “I feel like we finally put together three solid rounds on the same day which hasn’t happened before.”
For two years the Vikings had been trying to score more than 230 points in the first round. Dodd said they came within a point on several occasions, but Monday night, they finally surpassed that elusive mark with a record-high 232.6. From there, the energy just kept rolling.
“I think the energy we had coming into the competition just helped us perform really well on the mats,” senior Gwyn Glombowski said. “Everyone had the same mindset that we wanted to perform really well. We all took the time to practice outside of cheer so when we got on the mats, we all did our jobs like we were supposed to and performed really well.”
As a senior leader on the team, Glombowski competes in all three rounds. She said she’d agree with her coach, saying that was the team’s best overall performance.
“I would say that was the best three rounds we’ve all put together,” Glombowski said. “I think we have performed certain rounds better before, but I think overall that was the best we’ve ever done.”
Marysville scored 212.92 in round two and 311.8 in the third, leading to an overall score of 757.32, eclipsing their previous school record of 749.54, to win the MAC-Blue title.
With one regular-season competition remaining, the Vikings will now focus on the district competition set for Feb. 18 at Fenton High School.
“[It gives us] tons of confidence,” Dodd said. “We’ll look to redo what we did Monday night but make it even a little bit better. That was exactly the boost of confidence our team needed.”
Dodd said her team carries four seniors, three juniors, and 11 underclassmen, and although the girls are young, the expectations are still high.
“Won the state championship 20 years ago in 2003, and this team reminds me a lot of that team, even though this team is so young,” Dodd said. “The next couple of years for Marysville competitive cheer are going to be pretty good because these youngsters just get it.”
As a senior, Glombowski has experienced the program's growth over the last few years and said she’s looking forward to finishing her final season and seeing what else the “youngsters” have in store for the years to come.
“I’ve been cheering since I was in seventh grade. [My favorite part] is just the whole concept of teamwork,” she said. “I love the group of girls I get to work with. We work together nine months out of the year so it’s really nice to see the underclassmen grow. I like to mentor them because I see myself in some of the younger girls.”
Marysville will compete in the North American Spirit 700 Invite hosted by Richmond Monday night as a tune-up for next Saturday’s district competition.
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