Holland
Christian cheer team takes first at O-K Green meet

Larry A. Hirt | Advance Newspapers, January 27, 2009

Holland
Christian got its season off to a solid start, capturing the O-K Green
jamboree last Wednesday evening at Wyoming Park, in just the Maroons' second competitive cheer event
thus far this winter. - (ADVANCE photos by
LARRY A. HIRT)

The Wyoming Park competitive cheer team conducts its round three routine at
the O-K Green jamboree it hosted Wednesday night.

WYOMING -- The Holland Christian competitive cheer team waited until
Jan. 17 to begin its winter schedule, but early indications the plan is
on-target.

The Maroons only had one preparatory meet before the
first O-K Green conference jamboree last Wednesday evening at Wyoming Park. After calming the first-meet jitters, Holland Christian
captured the Green jam with 717.7 points, easily outdistancing runner-up
Byron Center 687.3, third-place Wyoming Park (648.5), and fourth-place Zeeland West (646.9).

"We were picky at practice this week and we were
able to showcase that tonight," said Elisabeth Cunningham, who has
returned to co-coach the Maroons alongside last year's varsity coach Dar Draisma.

"Our scores improved and we performed better than
we did over the weekend at Grand Rapids Christian. At that meet, we were a
little nervous, and a little more calm tonight. But
we still have to keep working."

Holland Christian led Byron Center by less than three points after the round 1,
and fewer than 10 points after two rounds. But the Maroons managed the
highest tally in all three rounds.

Byron Center might have overtaken the Maroons during their first O-K Green
encounter, but the Bulldogs suffered their first "off-night" in five
events thus far. Under the direction of head coach Amy Hass and assistant
Kelli Saunders, Byron Center has scored as high as 737 already this winter.

"We were ready to kick it up, but we had a lot of
mental blocks tonight and had an off-night all-around," said Hass.
"This is our fifth meet, and our first four meets have all been great -
until the night that counts. But you can't have a great night every night, we
know that."

Conversely, the host Vikings, competing in their fourth
meet of the season, improved their scores in all
three rounds on their home mats Wednesday, narrowly slipping past Zeeland
West for third place in the final round.

"Our girls did awesome tonight. We've been
building, and we added tucks in the third round, which is huge for a small
team like ours. We're making strides every day," offered Amanda VanEss, in her first season alongside assistant Amy Shupe.

Wyoming Park counts just 10 members on its roster, consisting of three
seniors, three juniors, three sophomores, and a freshman.

Rounding out the team scoring Wednesday were Rogers in
fifth place with 573.0 points, Hamilton with 471.5, and Zeeland East with
468.1 points.

In the junior-varsity portion of the meet, Holland
Christian barely edged Byron Center for the top spot, 560.9 to 559.4.

The O-K Green Conference will converge for its next
jamboree this Wednesday at Byron Center, with other meets to follow at
Zeeland West (Feb. 4), Unity Christian (Feb. 11), and the conference
tournament at Byron Center on Saturday, Feb. 14.