Otsego
advances to regional

February 21, 2009

The Kalamazoo Gazette

OTSEGO — With a tough meet ahead, Nicole
Durr said she didn't mind seeing her Otsego cheer team work the kinks out in
districts.

The Bulldogs fell short
of their title hopes at the Division 2 district tournament on their home
mats, but finished in the top four to advance to next Saturday’s
Coopersville regional, where they’ll face defending state champions
Chippewa Hills and No. 1-ranked Comstock Park. Durr called the stacked regional
a “mini state finals.”

“We had a rough day
today,” Durr said. “We had quite a few mistakes. We had a penalty
in round two. We’ve had some injuries the last couple weeks. The girls
are fighting back from that. They had an awesome week at conference finals
last week and I think they’re kind of coming down from that.”

The Bulldogs ended the
day on a high note, winning the final round with a 303.4.

Holland Christian took
the tournament with 736.3292 and Lakewood took advantage of the Otsego
mistakes, earning a one-point edge on the Bulldogs to finish second. Lansing
Catholic took fourth.

Rebekah Greene, Alex
Watkins and Jordan Reeber represented Otsego on the all-district first team
while Durr was named district coach of the year.

“It’s nice to
be recognized by my peers,” she said.

Three Rivers fell a spot shy of advancing. Coach Ashlie Lemieux said
the final round held her squad back.

“That’s where
we fell,” she said. “A lot of stuff didn’t hit there and
that stopped us from getting those six points.”

Three Rivers senior Amy
Stover earned a spot on the all-district team.