Bulldogs
cheer to top spot in own invite

by Advance Newspapers

Monday January 07,
2008, 1:54 PM

The second meet of the season turned out to be an outstanding showing
for the Bulldogs.

Grandville's competitive cheerleaders placed second at their own
invitational last Saturday, winning the Division 1 bracket with 776.195 total
points. West Ottawa took second with 746.910, followed by Hudsonville
(726.920), Lake Orion (692.292), Mona Shores
(619.896) and Midland Dow (587.316). A total of 36 teams competed among the
three divisions.

Bulldogs coach Julie Smith-Boyd was thrilled with how her team
performed in its second outing of the season.

"It was a great performance. We have a
really young team, and every time they go out and perform a little bit
stronger," said Smith-Boyd. "Yesterday was the first time I've felt
the potential of this team and what's possible for them to do."

In round one, the Bulldogs gave their best performance so far this
season with a very high score of 229.5. Coach Smith-Boyd said it was a nearly
flawless performance and she saw very little to correct in their skills. Grandville's
round two routine was another excellent showing of 242.916, and with the
exception of a few arm rotation mistakes the Bulldogs demonstrated strong
shows in what Smith-Boyd describes as a very exciting routine.

Then in the culminating third round the Bulldogs earned 304.5, which
came after having an extra four-to-five days layoff
over the holiday break.

"We have the potential for our round three to be very good,"
said Smith-Boyd. "It's exciting, especially for a young team."

Grandville has 23 girls and seven seniors on its varsity squad, with
one returning senior who performed in all three rounds last year. But the
Bulldogs will field 16 girls in all three rounds, which should help them with
the new rule that affords point credits for filling all 16 positions in a
round.

The Bulldogs next compete at the O-K Red pre-conference meet on
Wednesday at Hudsonville. Then they travel to the Brighton Invitational on
Saturday, January 19.