East
Kentwood wins home Invitational; Cheer

Advance
Newspapers, February 09, 2009 10:02 p.m.

EAST KENTWOOD WINS HOME
INVITATIONAL: Although 12 competitive cheer teams came to East Kentwood to participate in its tournament
Saturday, the participants came away with a whole lot more.

"It was a special
day with the Cheer for a Cure for breast cancer awareness," said EK
coach Stacy Sheler. "There was so much going
on. It was just a great day."

Aside from hosting the
tournament and raising awareness for breast cancer, East Kentwood performed its highest score of
the season -- 801.266 -- while also breaking two school records with a round one
score of
233.7 and round two score of 251.966. In round three the
Falcons scored 315.6.

"It was just great
to do that well with all of that stuff going on," said Sheler. "We did better than expected. We had a
really hard week of practice to build up our endurance so that we could get
through the stunt round easier."

The Falcons were led by
seniors Chantel Martin, Jessica Kurdziel
and Kierya Wilson, who all participate in all three
rounds.

On Thursday the Falcons
will host their Senior Night meet. On Saturday, they will perform at the
Delta Plex.

"We want to get the
feel of the environment, because that is where the state finals are,"
said Sheler of Saturday's tournament. "A lot
of teams want to be in that tournament for that reason."