Kentwood
cheer team places third at state

by Daniel Schoonmaker

Tuesday March 11, 2008,
9:47 AM

Angela Kuhn

Members of the East Kentwood
competitive cheer team perform a routine during action at the Division 1
state finals at the Deltaplex. Grandville won the
state title while East Kentwood placed
third.

GRAND RAPIDS - Grandville won the Division 1 competitive cheer
state championship on Friday in a dramatic duel with three-time defending
champion Rochester
at the DeltaPlex.

After
taking a half-point advantage in the Round One competition, the Bulldogs and
Rochester tied in Round Two with twin scores of 248.804, leaving the meet
virtually deadlocked going into the final round at 478.304-477.804.

In the
fourth spot of the final-round rotation, Rochester delivered a nearly flawless,
crowd-pleasing routine complete with strategically-placed face paint. But the
Bulldogs' routine proved even better - precisely two points better,
316.5-314.5 - for a 794.804-792.304 victory and the Division 1 state title.

"In
cheerleading you can't do anything about what anybody else does," said
Bulldog coach Julie Smith-Boyd, explaining that her team did not see Rochester cheer in any
of the three rounds. "We just had to go out and execute what we do. We
did it pretty well."

The last
time the teams met, at the DeltaPlex's PR
Tournament in February, Rochester
won by 15 points overall and led by four points off the bat.

"To
have a lead in Round One was a big psychological thing," Smith said.
"They were so much more confident today."

This
happened a week after Grandville narrowly secured its state berth with a
runner-up finish in the regional tourney. Third-place Rockford finished only one point back.

"Last
week was the defining moment for them," Smith-Boyd said. "We knew
we had to be pretty perfect in Round Three, and we went out there and did it.
They were just so thrilled to be going on."

In many
years the regional tourney has been a low-stress event, Smith-Boyd said, with
a trip to the state meet all but assured. The rapidly improving O-K Red conference
changed that dynamic. Just to get out of the regional against West Michigan competition has become a significant
confidence booster.

"You
have to leave all your doubts before you go out there," said Bulldog
senior captain Jillayne Kurtz. "You have to
have no doubts and know you can do it. We really had our peak today. We had a
perfect three rounds; that was our goal all year."

Kurtz,
who described the third-round-score announcement as the "most
unbelievable feeling ever," has been the inspirational center of the
squad, according to Smith-Boyd.

"Sometimes
its hard when you get to this point in the season and don't know what more to
tell them to motivate them," said Smith-Boyd.

"(Kurtz)
has been the real inspirational person on our team, always getting in their
face and just really charging them up. She took over today, and the seniors
in general did a great job of keeping everyone focused."

This is
Grandville's fourth competitive cheer state championship. Only Rochester and
Grandville have ever won a Division 1 state title.

"It
was conceivable this year that neither one of us would get it," said
Smith-Boyd. "The level of athleticism is going up for everybody."

Had
Grandville and Rochester stumbled, East Kentwood was waiting in third place. Last week's
regional champions, the Falcons were third in all three rounds for a final
score of 782.4, 12 back from Grandville and 13 ahead of fourth-place Stoney Creek.

"I'm
very happy," said Falcon Stacy Sheler. "I
think you have to be happy to get in any of the top places at this level of
competition. Obviously it was Grandville's day. We had three solid
performances, and that was what we set out to do."