Sunday, February 25, 2007

West Ottawa's determination pays off

Panthers win O-K Red Conference championship,
beat No. 2 Grandville

By TED BOOKER Special
to The Sentinel

The expression of West Ottawa
cheerleading coach Kristine Brandt's face said it all.

In an
event that was decided in the final round, West Ottawa
stunned the competition Saturday at the O-K Red Conference cheerleading
championships to secure the conference title.

West Ottawa, ranked No. 3 in Division 1, finished the
three rounds with 730 points.

The team
scored rounds of 197, 223 and 310 to overtake East
Kentwood's 720.9 (199, 219.4, 302.5).

Grandville,
which was ranked No. 2 in the state coming into the meet, finished third with
217 points (201, 221.5, 294.5).

As the
final scores were announced over the loud speaker, it was evident that the
celebration already commenced. Brandt, who is coaching for her first year,
was all smiles.

"This
is a great representation of what this team can do," she said. "I
am just so proud of them and cannot wait to continue on with more
success."

In the
third round of competition, West Ottawa was
in a position to win the meet. Grandville's third round was obstructed by
miscues.

Brandt
told her team that it would come down to whoever wanted it more and was glad
to see the hard work come to fruition.

"Going
into round three we were only two and a half points behind, which is nothing
in cheerleading," Brandt said. "Knowing we were close
made the girls want it even more. I told them to remember they are here
because you love what you do, and they proved it.

"From
the beginning I knew we had a talented squad. I was hoping we didn't peak too
soon or too late, and it worked out great."

Team
captain Heather Fuglseth, who is one of the
fourteen seniors on the team, couldn't say enough about the day.

"It
feels amazing to have everything finally pay off," she said. "We
have been looking to be the best all season long and pressing (hard). It
feels good to be at this point of the season and reaching our peak."

Fuglseth said that Grandville's mistakes didn't affect the
team's mentality going into the final round.

"Even
though they made mistakes, we still had to nail it down and finish it,"
she said.

She said
that it has been a collective effort all season long.

"From
the beginning of the season, we bonded as a team and have been with each
other all season. I am proud of everyone on the team today."