Tri-County Times

Linden cheerleaders
win own invitational

By David Troppens

Published: Saturday,
January 31, 2009 6:17 AM EST

The Linden, Fenton and Lake Fenton competitive cheer teams
take some time out for a picture during Saturday’s Linden
Invitational.

A strong senior class can lead teams in many
sports.

Kim Zimmerman thinks that may be the secret behind her Linden varsity competitive
cheer team this winter.

The Eagles, who took only sixth in the Metro last
year, took first at their own invitational recently, defeating Lake Fenton for the top spot
overall. The Blue Devils had an outstanding meet as well, earning second
overall and first in the Division 3-4 class.

“They did really well,” Zimmerman said of her squad. “They
did awesome in round one and two. They struggled with round three, but that
was kind of a fluke. They usually do well with it. They are very focused and
dedicated.”

The
Eagles are an improved team. The squad took third at the first Metro League
meet.

“We have 14 of our 18 girls come back from the sideline team to the
competitive team,” Zimmerman said. “Usually we’ve had eight
to 10
come back.

“I have five seniors that have been with the program since seventh
grade and they realized last year they want to step it up and do really well.
That’s made a difference and it’s made an impact on the younger
girls because they see the older girls work so hard.”

Linden recorded a total score of
648.2816 for its three rounds, while Lake Fenton posted a 640.06. Linden won round one with a score of 198
and also won the second round with a 191.9816. Lake Fenton took second in each. The Blue
Devils won round three with a score of 285.9 compared to Linden’s second-place score of
258.3. Fenton also competed and took third in the Division 1 and 2 competition.

“We want to stay focused and improve our score each competition,”
Zimmerman said. “Even if we don’t take first or second, we want
to improve our score all three rounds.”