Grandville earns fourth title, four all-area nods

by Larry Hirt

Monday March 17, 2008,
2:50 PM

In the 15 years that the MHSAA has conducted state meets in
competitive cheerleading, only two schools have claimed the Division 1
championship: Rochester
and Grandville.

That streak continued in 2008, as Julie Smith-Boyd's Grandville
Bulldogs won the school's fourth state title, also winning in 1997, 1998, and
2004.

"I was thrilled for my seniors,"
Smith-Boyd said. "Other than Kedna (Sall), there really weren't any kids were on the varsity
very long. They worked their way through the ranks, so it was very special
for them, putting in their time at each level of learning.

"That really benefited our team because they weren't burned out
on it. They were just thrilled for the opportunity. It was really to our
advantage to have a young team, with the right group of senior girls to lead
them."

Grandville won the state championship one weekend after East Kentwood edged Grandville for the regional title,
sending EK coach Stacy Sheler to her sixth
state-meet appearance in six seasons at the helm.

Following is a look at this year's Advance All-Area Competitive Cheer
Team:

BRITTANY BLEVINN

Grandville

A senior flier who competed in all three rounds, Brittany followed in her sister Lindsay's
footsteps, as one of four current Bulldogs who had a sister on Grandville's
2004 state championship team. Maintaining a 3.7 grade-point average, Brittany plans to attend Grand Valley
State in the fall.

"She is a real consistent flier, a hard worker, and she has a
real positive attitude," Smith-Boyd said. "She worked really hard
this year to become stronger. She became more mentally tough as the season
went along and became a more vocal leader."

KELSEY BYXBE

Grandville

Kelsey has been a member of Grandville's varsity team since her
freshman season. She earned all-state honors this year as a junior base,
competing in all three rounds, while carrying a 3.6 GPA.

"Kelsey is a very solid performer, just somebody you can count on
to be very consistent from day to day," Smith-Boyd suggested. "She
gives it her all. She wasn't called on to be a leader because we had good
senior leaders, but she will be looked upon next year as our team leader.
This year she learned a lot about leadership from our seniors. Her sister
(Melissa) was on the team last year, and this year Kelsey really came into
her own as an athlete and as a performer."

KELSIE CLARK

East Kentwood

With a GPA above a 4-point, Kelsie earned
two major cheerleading scholarships this season, including the prestigious
Randy Orr Scholarship from the LMCCOA. Kelsie plans
to study forensic science at the University
of Michigan, with hopes
of making the U-M cheerleading squad.

"She's great on the floor and off the floor. She has a 4.04
grade-point average and she's just an unbelievable student and athlete,"
Sheler said of this senior back spot.

ANDREA DECKER

Rockford

Andrea, a junior, has performed in all three rounds since her freshman
season at Rockford,
most notably as a standout flier in Round 3. She also excels in the
classroom, as evidenced by her 3.957 GPA.

"Andrea has solid skills all the way around and is an amazing
flier. She has great face, great motions, voice, everything," Rockford's 11th-year
coach Kathy Resseguie said. "She is well-respected on the team,
well-liked, and is a good leader both on and off the floor."

JILLAYNE KURTZ

Grandville

Jillyane, an all-state back
spot, was regarded as the inspirational leader for the Division 1 state
champions.

"She's the person at practice, or in the
huddle before the girls went out on the floor, who fired everyone up and gave
last-minute instructions. She just has a really good sense of humor and knew
when to say certain things to get everybody relaxed. She really took over
that role in the state finals," Smith-Boyd expressed.

TAYLOR MANDELLA

East Kentwood

Taylor has
competed in Division 1 state meet four consecutive years for the Falcons,
earning all-state recognition as a senior back spot in 2008.

"She's an all-around great cheerleader, with beautiful tumbling
skills. She was my front and center in Round 1 because of her beautiful
jumps. She was a great leader for us as a team captain," said Sheler.

BIANCA MARTIN

East Kentwood

Like Mandella, Bianca was also a four-year
varsity performer for EK, culminating in an all-state award for the senior
captain.

"Bianca is an unbelievable team leader. She did some amazing
things for us in Round 3. She is also a great tumbler," Sheler said. "She was our front-and-center base
stunt group. Bianca and Taylor (Mandella) would do
a power base stunt, throwing Taylor
up in the air by herself. She's very powerful."

KATIE SAKALA

Rockford

Headed to Central Michigan University, Katie was applauded by her
Rockford coach as being a "huge contributor" to the future of the
program, shaping their youngest cheerleaders through community ed, rocket, camps, and tryouts.

"Katie is an incredibly hard worker and a team motivator. She has
very solid skills and is a very strong base in Round 3. She's also a great
leader in Round 1, having a really strong voice and good motions,"
Resseguie said.

KEDNA SALL

Grandville

Kedna's three-year stint on varsity
served her and the Bulldogs well as a team captain and all-state base.

"Kedna is an excellent jumper and real
athletic. She was our middle person in Round 2 the last two years. She has
beautiful skills," Smith-Boyd said. "We had a really young team,
with only seven seniors. Kedna's experience really
helped, just the knowledge of going out on the mat and going against Rochester so many
times, and the wisdom that she shared. She's such a good role model."

ERICA YEOMANS

Comstock Park

Erica has worked the mats in all three rounds for the past four years
at Comstock Park, gaining an all-state nod as a
senior flier for the Division 3 state runner-up Panthers in 2008.

"She has a great floor presence, great skills, back
handsprings, back walkover. She also has beautiful tumbling skills and a
great attitude. She's just a great kid to work with," Comstock Park
head coach Kathy Felty described. "She's a
very hard worker and really has helped bring us together as a team. She
really strives to help others around her."

ADVANCE
ALL-AREA COMPETITIVE CHEER TEAM

FIRST TEAM

Brittany Blevinn Grandville Sr.

Kelsey Byxbe Grandville Jr.

Kelsie Clark East Kentwood Sr.

Andrea Decker Rockford Jr.

Jillayne Kurtz Grandville Sr.

Taylor Mandella East Kentwood Sr.

Bianca Martin East Kentwood Sr.

Katie Sakala Rockford Sr.

Kedna Sall Grandville Sr.

Erica Yeomans Comstock Park Sr.

SECOND TEAM

Sarah Coble
Comstock Park Sr.

Rhianna D'Amico Jenison Sr.

Kelly Dotson Jenison Sr.

Danielle Gerow Rockford Jr.

Kate Haynes East Kentwood Sr.

April Meaney Hudsonville Sr.

Brianna Novitsky Kenowa Hills Jr.

Katelyn Oosterhouse Grandville Sr.

Kelsey VanderWiere Grandville So.

Lynzi Zuk East Kentwood Sr.

HONORABLE MENTION

Asia Alexander, East Kentwood; Taylor Argo, Forest Hills Central; Emily Barense, Jenison; Shali Clark,
East Kentwood; Sara Datema, Grandville; Olivia
Deters, Hudsonville; Kelsey French, Comstock Park; Emily Gravelin,
Cedar Springs; Terese Healy, Jenison; Olivia Holwerda, GR Christian; Alexa
Keene, Comstock Park; Rachel Kishman, Grandville;
Andrea Kober, Sparta; Jessica Kurdziel,
East Kentwood; Allie Ledger, Hudsonville; Chloe Leonardo, Grandville; Amanda Luymes, GR Christian; Brittini
May, Comstock Park; Cathy Mazure, Jenison; Torri Mills, Rockford; Emily Ray, Byron Center; Jenna
Richardson, Grandville; Lizz Roelse,
Rockford; Casey Viilo, Kenowa Hills.