Competitive
cheer preview

By Jason Wesseldyk

Sports Editor

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 4:00 PM EST

OTSEGO

Last year the Otsego competitive cheer team enjoyed a dream season.

Not only did the Bulldogs win Wolverine Conference and regional
championships, but they also earned a top-10 showing at the Division 2 state
finals with their ninth-place finish.

And while she knows matching that level of success this year will be no easy
task, Otsego coach Nicole Durr believes her team is
poised to have another solid season.

“It should be a fun year,” said Durr,
who earned Regional Coach of the Year honors a year ago. “This team is
very strong in all aspects and they have great chemistry. They are very
motivated and have set many goals for this season, including to repeat as
Wolverine Conference champs and to advance to the state finals for the third
straight year. “

Otsego’s eight returning letter winners will anchor its squad.

Back are seniors Kaila Schmitt and Emily Stack; juniors Rebekah Greene, Jordan Reeber
and Alex Watkins; and sophomores Sarah Brennan, Chelsi
Hoisington and Ashley Markley.

Four newcomers—senior Chelsie Johnson, junior
Olivia Dennis, sophomore Brittany Dake and freshman
Kayla Ledford—round out the roster.

“The eight returning letter winners are a very solid core, with
tremendous experience and talent,” Durr said.
“The four newcomers bring exciting new dimensions to our team.

“All three of our cheers are high in difficulty and will be exciting
for our fans to watch.”

PLAINWELL

To say that the Plainwell competitive cheer team lacks when it comes to
experience would be an understatement.

More than half of the girls on the team are competing in
the sport for the first time, with many of the returning letter winners not
much more seasoned.

Despite that inexperience, Plainwell coach Sara Mejeur
is expecting good things this season.

“Our goals are to finish in first place in our conference, advance to regionals and to state finals,” Mejeur
said. “To achieve these ambitious goals we have a lot of work to do.

“Experience is something that will obviously only come with time, but
they improve at every practice and push themselves and each other to be better.
If they keep their focus and remember what they are working for - their
inexperience shouldn’t factor in and they will be champions.”

Nikki Theodore is the lone returning senior, while the junior duo of Kayleyne Babcock and Kelsey Roessler
and the sophomore quartet of Megan Andres, Jessica Areaux,
Stephanie Martin and Kylie Rush are also back. Seniors Isa Gabriel, Ali
Graham and Olivia Toddy are among the newcomers.

“My team’s strength is definitely their hard work and positive
attitudes,” Mejeur said. “This is
absolutely the hardest working team I have ever had. We have already had some
tough things to push through early this season with some injuries to key
returners and they pushed through it with the focus and strength of a veteran
team.”

WAYLAND

During Diane Martus’ three seasons as
Wayland’s competitive cheer coach, the Wildcats have steadily climbed
in the O-K Gold standings, going from sixth in 2006 to fifth in 2007 to third
in 2008.

With a
host of returning letter winners to lead the way, Martus
is looking for that upward trend to continue.

“This group of athletes has the potential of doing very well this
season,” Martus said. “With so many
girls returning, we have a lot of experience under our belts.”

The senior trio of Jen Josey, Ariel Edsall and Karen Baweja lead
the returning group. Juniors Ashley and Jamie Ditmars, Kylie Moore, Stacy
Smith and Lindsey Williams also return, as does
sophomore Taylor Akers.

Five newcomers—senior Andrea Dykstra, junior Jessica Crawford, junior
Cassie Preston, sophomore Brianna Byrnes and freshman Katie
Phillips—add depth.

“My biggest concern is that the girls won’t realize how good they
can be and how far they can really go during the season,” Martus said. “They have the ability and
talent.”

ALLEGAN

Lisa Kent isn’t new to the world of coaching, having coached JV
competitive cheer for two years.

This, however, will be her first year as the head coach at the varsity level.

Inheriting a relatively young team, she hopes she and her team can grow
together during the course of the season.

“I have a young team this year, but I also have a lot of talent,”
Kent said. “We are working very
hard together and I have seen a huge improvement already just within a month.
I am looking forward to a great year with a team that has a lot of
potential.”

As the only returning senior, Katie Smith will be relied upon to help provide
leadership and guidance to the younger team members.

Juniors Tomi El, Monica Roark, Becky Barber and
Kara Coonfare join Smith with previous varsity
experience, as do sophomores Molly Wagner, Samantha Lapinne
and Allie Siegler.