Kristie Reed said Saturday’s cheerleading state championship competition will be different for her.
That’s because for the first time since she took over the Hermon High School program in 2009, her daughter is a member of the team.
“This certainly makes the situation a lot different,” Reed said. “My nerves are a little worse. When she is out there, you have a different perspective from a mom’s point of view.”
Lyndsee Reed is one of five freshmen on a Hermon team that on Saturday seeks the school’s fourth consecutive state Class B title at the Augusta Civic Center.
The Class B and C competitions begin at 2 p.m. with Class A and Class D starting at 6 p.m.
The Hawks have only one senior, Brooklyn Brown, and two of those freshmen, Megan Dorr and Maddy Smith, are their flyers.
Lyndsee Reed has cheered for her mom for several years through the TriTown (Hermon, Levant and Carmel) travel program that her mother founded seven years ago.
Brown this spring will be the first TriTown alum to graduate high school.
Lyndsee said cheering for her mom is fun but that cheering in high school involves a lot more pressure.
“It’s a lot different but it’s still fun,” the 15-year-old said.
Kristie Reed said her daughter has been a productive member of the team as one of the cheerleaders who make up the base.
“She’s pretty athletic and strong. She has done well,” Kristie said. “She always gives 100 percent.”
Lyndsee said she is pleased with her first high school cheering campaign.
“We’re a really close team. It has been a lot of fun to practice and compete with them,” she said.
Lyndsee Reed also played travel basketball growing up. Her father, Hermon High School boys basketball coach Mark Reed, was a four-year starter at Bangor High where he played for his father, and her grandfather, Roger.
Mark Reed, a two-time Bangor Daily News All-Maine first-team pick, led the Rams to two regional titles and the 1993 state championship. He played Division I ball at Liberty University.
Kristie said she and Mark encouraged Lyndsee to both cheer and play basketball through the recreation department and travel programs up until a year and a half ago.
“We had her make a decision [between basketball and cheering] before her eighth grade year,” said Kristie, who pointed out that neither is her favorite sport.
“Soccer and softball are her favorites. She dedicates more time to those,” Kristie said.
“It was a difficult decision, but in the end, I had done a lot more cheering than basketball, so that was the way to go,” Lyndsee said. “Soccer and softball are a lot more fun, but I love them all.”
Lyndsee had a memorable fall for the Hermon soccer team. The starting striker helped lead the Hawks to a Class B North championship.
“It has been a blessing, for sure. It’s really cool. Not a lot of kids have a chance to do this their freshman year,” Lyndsee said.
Kristie Reed has been pleased with the progress of her cheering team.
“They fit together. They really get along,” she said.
Reed expects Ellsworth and 10-time Class B South regional champion Medomak Valley of Waldoboro to be their primary challengers with Presque Isle and Leavitt of Turner also being in the mix.
Hermon cruised to the regional championship with 88.2 points, far outdistancing Brewer (71.7), Ellsworth (67.7) and Presque Isle (67.5). Medomak Valley also won its regional handily with 81.7 points. Leavitt (73.9) and Morse of Bath (69.8) rounded out the top three in B South.
In Class A, there has been a different champion the past three years. Biddeford claimed the championship a year after Bangor won in 2018 and Lewiston was the 2017 winner.
Bangor, led by its eight seniors, won its third straight Class A North title two weekends ago. It is the only school other than Lewiston (6) and Biddeford (5) to capture a state A crown during the past 12 years.
Bangor racked up 92.4 points in its regional triumph with Lewiston (86.8), Oxford Hills (86.6) and Hampden Academy (76.8) following the Rams. Biddeford won its third Class A South title in a row with 86.9 points to edge Scarborough (85.3), and Marshwood of South Berwick (79.9) came in third.
Sumner of East Sullivan dominated the Class C North regional, earning a score of 77.9 to top Central of Corinth by 11.8 points. Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln (65.1) completed the top three. Monmouth Academy (73.6) edged out defending state champ Lisbon (73.1) in the C South regional with Mountain Valley of Rumford (64.3) in third.
Central Aroostook of Mars Hill will be the heavy favorite in Class D as the Panthers have won six states in a row and 11 of the past 12.
There were 12 schools statewide in Class D North/South that competed in the regional and the top eight advanced.
Central Aroostook tallied 74.9 points with Penobscot Valley of Howland (63.3) and Bangor Christian (58-1) rounding out the top three.