Sunday, January 13, 2008

WO 2nd at cheer
invite

By LEO MARTONOSI Senior
Correspondent

Members of the West Ottawa High School Competitive Cheer
Team compete in round one of the West Ottawa Competitive Cheer Invitational
Saturday.

The season's best performance season earned the West Ottawa competitive cheer team a second-place
finish at its invitational Saturday.

The Panthers totaled
763.068 points, second only to Rockford's
765.256 in Division 1. Hudsonville placed third in Division 1 with 725.35
points.

"I was very
happy with our performance," West Ottawa
coach Kristine Brandt said. "We had our best score of the season in all
three rounds."

DeWitt ran away with
the Division II-III team title with a 725.165 score.

The 40-team event
drew a crowd of 1,500, West Ottawa athletic
director Ron Allen said.

"It's always
nice to perform at home before family and friends," West
Ottawa senior Amanda Janowiak said.
"We wanted to be first, but this is only going to make us better. This
is something we can build on."

Janowiak and senior Brittney
Gonzalez competed in all three rounds for the Panthers, as did sophomore Mary
Blank, junior Erin McGovern, senior Maea Kangas, senior Amanda Boersema,
senior Jacqui Kammeraad, junior Monica Harrington,
junior Danielle Beaudreult, senior Karrie Zych and sophomore Sydney Beaudreult.

"Competitive
cheer is a team sport," Brandt said. "All the girls did well."