Otsego
competitive cheer team takes first place at regionals

By Walt Kaechele

Senior correspondent

Wednesday, March 5, 2008
4:14 PM EST

In
this mount for Otsego, the base is (from the left) Kelsey Hayse, Rachel Newton and Katrina LaViolett.
The top mount is Jordan Reeber. (Photo by Walt Kaechele)

OTSEGO—It’s tough
enough going into any state tournament competition with the nerves, jitters
and maintaining the highest level of play, but a whole new dimension of
stress comes into play when a team goes in as the favorite. This was
Otsego’s competitive cheer fate as it entered the Division III competitive
cheer region last Saturday, March 1, in Otsego. The expectations were high
and the Bulldogs didn’t let the stress of being the favorite interfere
with their march to the top and easily out-pointed runner up Lansing Catholic
Central 719.536 to 701.536. Both teams will move on to the state finals March
7-8 at the Delta Plex in Grand Rapids.

Otsego coach Nicole Durr—Regional coach of
the year with Allegan’s Nicole Laster and Lansing Catholic Central’s Jodi
Boehringer—was confident her girls would answer the call when the
competition started.

Durr said, “It’s
not easy knowing the competition and how many good teams there would be here.
It’s great to win, but we really did stay focused this week and worked
very hard for this.”

The first round saw the Bulldogs perform the two required jumps and six
formations the judges use to determine the point total for the round. The
Bulldogs emerged in second place, two points behind Lansing Catholic Central
214.5 to 212.5. Durr was not particularly concerned
with the placement.

“The girls were a little upset with themselves after the first
round,” Durr said. “But it was more a
case of others having a great round rather than us having a weak round.

“I felt pretty confident about our next rounds. We have been working
hard on our gymnastics since last March. We’ve been working on skills
and techniques and made some big improvements since last year.”

The confidence the team had going into the meet came to
the surface in the second round when the Bulldogs took over the lead for good
with a performance good for 208.88 and a second round sub total of 421.380.
Lansing Catholic Central had the round’s second highest score of
192.036, but fell to second overall with a sub total of 406.536. The Bulldogs
were starting to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the
teams.

An enthusiastic Durr said, “We knew what we
had to do and we nailed it.”

With the required and compulsory rounds completed, the third and final open
round could make or break the day for the Bulldogs, but it would take a huge
error for any team to make up nearly 15 points.

The third round saw the Bulldogs set to perform third from the last, but that
was just the way Durr likes it.

She said, “We like coming in late in the round. It gives us a chance to
see what we have to do, so it was a good placement.

“We did have a stunt come down early, but this was my senior group and
they kept their poise. They came right back and completed the routine.
Everything else just came together for a great third round.”

Allison Parliament (left) and Alli
Beam (front) and Kayty Smith helped Allegan to a
fifth-place regional finish. (Photo by Walt Kaechele)

Beside Otsego, Allegan and Hopkins were entered in the regional
competition. Allegan came out strong in the first round and finished in third
place at the conclusion with a score of 203.5 and Hopkins was 11th with a total of 169.5.

In round two, both teams lost a little momentum as Allegan’s
score of 183.224 dropped them from third to fifth. Hopkins dropped one spot from 11 to 12.

After round three, Allegan had a solid 278, but the performance, as good as
it was, only maintained their fifth place position. Hopkins stayed in 12th place with a third
round total of 256.

Team placement and scores: 1. Otsego 719.380, 2. Lansing Catholic Central
701.536, 3. Lakewood 686.568, 4. Zeeland West 675.45, 5. Allegan 664.724, 6.
Paw Paw 657.071, 7. Coloma 642.798, 8. East Jackson
626.965, 9. Albion 619.777, 10. Delton 594.312, 11. Portland 593.6, 12. Hopkins 579.115, 13. Penfield 565.684, 14. Maple Valley 553.855, 15. Hillsdale 505.812.