Final routine
boosts Kentwood

Sunday,
February 03, 2008

By
Dean Holzwarth

The Grand Rapids Press

KENTWOOD -- The East
Kentwood competitive cheer team has a Round 3 routine that is
appealing to the crowd.

It's a fast-moving, acrobatic
cheer that has been revamped since last year.

"It's a different Round 3
than East Kentwood has ever done,"
Falcons coach Stacy Sheler said. "We're doing
a lot more stunting and more difficult stunts than we've ever done. The girls
have worked well together in that round and really bonded."

East Kentwood delivered another impressive
performance to cap off Saturday's Falcon Fest and posted its highest Round 3
score of the season to take first-place honors in Class A.

The No. 2-ranked Falcons tallied a
318 in Round 3 and finished with a final score of 774.58. West
Ottawa closed with a 746.21 for second place.

"We do exciting stunts in
Round 3 and it's really visual," East Kentwood
senior Katelin Haynes said. "There's a lot
going on and it makes it cool to watch. We've really been progressing every
week and we just keep getting better and better."

East Kentwood hosted the annual invitational,
which included 10 teams competing in three classes.

Holland Christian takes second

In Class B, defending state
champion Holland Christian took second behind No. 1-ranked DeWitt. The
Maroons scored a three-round total of 697.422 and nipped third-place Sparta (696.272).

Montague (588.588) defeated Calvin
Christian (530.165) in Class C.

Holland Christian made giant
strides in Round 2 by attempting back-tucks for the first time.

"It was the first time that
all seven girls threw tucks in Round 2, which is a huge step for the
girls," Maroons coach Darlene Draisma said.
"We're taking it step by step and the next goal is perfecting them and
landing them."

East Kentwood and Holland Christian will be
among an elite group of teams that will compete next week at the PR Cheer
Invitational at the DeltaPlex.

The Falcons are looking to
solidify their lofty ranking in Division 1.

"We've been talking about the
DeltaPlex for a couple weeks now," Sheler
said. "It's the first time we'll see teams in the state that we haven't
seen before that are ranked in the top 10."

"We're ranked No. 2 and we
want to come out of the DeltaPlex with people knowing that we deserve that
spot--that it isn't a fluke."

Sheler said a change in round 2 will
take place this week in preparation for Saturday.

"We'll be adding two more
girls so we have 16 on the floor in every round," Sheler
said. "We have to do that if we want to compete with the top teams in
the state."

Holland Christian will enter next
week as the sixth-ranked team in Division 2.

"Our goal is to clean up our
tucks and other tumbling in round 2 and focus on our jumps in round 1," Draisma said. "Whoever has the best day will win
it."