Holland Christian cheer
smiles way to state

Thursday,
March 08, 2007

By Cris Greer

The Grand Rapids Press

A historic day awaits the
Holland Christian competitive cheer program.

The Maroons, top-ranked in
Division 2, are hoping to grab their first state title Saturday at the
DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids in program developer and assistant coach Peggy Lintemuth's final competition.

Lintemuth, mother of coach Beth Cunningham,
has been her daughter's assistant this year, but coached the Maroons for four
seasons.

Cunningham likes the idea
of winning the title during her mother's last competition.

"That would be pretty
sweet," said Cunningham, whose Maroons have won two consecutive regional
titles. "She's been coaching for 20 years and has done wonders with the
Holland Christian cheer team in such a short time. She's a great coach and
the program is lucky to have had her."

Before Holland Christian, Lintemuth coached sideline and competitive cheer at
Fowlerville from 1986-95. Her team was the sideline state champion in Class B
in 1992 and '93. They were runners-up in competitive cheer in 1994 and '95.

In 2004, she was named
Coach of the Year by the Competitive Cheer Coaches Association of Michigan.

At the state finals,
Cunningham said her main competition will be Allen Park,
Mt. Pleasant and DeWitt.

"I really don't want
the focus to be about winning," said Cunningham, whose team has won four
O-K Green championships. "I want it to be about having a great time this
week and working really hard.

"My hope is that they
go out there and just enjoy the experience."

As far as bringing home
the title, though, Cunningham has faith in her team's abilities.

"Our girls are very
capable and have just worked so hard this season," Cunningham said.
"We need to go for that wow performance."

Last weekend, Holland
Christian took first place at regionals over Sparta with a score of
670.8.

"We struggled in
round three, but rounds one and two were good," Cunningham said.
"We're hoping to improve our score from Saturday a lot. I think it was
one of our lowest scores of the season in that round."

Cunningham said it's the
most experienced team she's had with eight seniors: Sara Woodwyk,
Ashley Baumann, Krissie Bartles,
Katie Prins, Katlyn
Prince, Anna Genzink, Meg Vogelzang
and Liz Lambers.