East
Kentwood captures district cheer tournament

Jen Judson |
Advance Newspapers, February 24, 2009

Members
of the East Kentwood competitive cheer team complete
their routine during district competition on Saturday. The Falcons took
first place. - (ADVANCE photos by KAREN WAITE)

Members of the Hudsonville competitive cheer team compete in
the district tournament last weekend.

Members of the Rockford competitive cheer
team finish their routine during district competition on Saturday.

ROCKFORD - As winter weather
rocked the outside world surrounding the cheer district at Rockford High School on Saturday, the
teams of the O-K Red rocked the gym inside.

With the top-four
teams moving onto the regional at Brighton next Saturday, East Kentwood took
the top prize (805.572), followed by West Ottawa in second (804.2272), Grandville
third (797.748) and Rockford fourth (795.8504).

"We didn't go
into the district to win it; we just wanted to make it to regionals,"
said EK coach Stacy Sheler. "I knew if we did
our best we could win it. We are very happy. It's a great day to be a Falcon."

Not making the cut
were O-K Red schools Jenison in fifth (788.6536)
and Hudsonville in sixth (776.7340).

"It's sad that
Hudsonville and Jenison aren't moving on," said Sheler. "We'll get to regionals,
and there will be teams that aren't as talented as they are. We have a really
good conference, and we push each other each week. I feel really fortunate to
be in that conference because of how we push each other. It could have been
any of the six teams moving on."

The competition at
the district level came down to the third round. Going into the deciding
round, Grandville had a five-plus point lead over East Kentwood
(490.3480-484.5720). The Falcons scored a 321.0 in round three to take the
lead and the district title.

"It's a
three-round sport, and if a team does not have a great third round then they
won't go on," said Sheler. "We got the
highest score in the third round. We were one of the last teams to go in
round three and the girls just handled the pressure. We have been pretty
consistent all season in rounds two and three.

"This team
keeps becoming stronger. They impress me more and more every day. Vivian Do, Shali Clark and Lauren White are seniors, and they were
really good leaders and helped the team today. I'm glad we have another week
because I wasn't ready to be done with this wonderful team."

After the first
round of action, Grandville was in the lead with its score of 236.2, ahead of
East
Kentwood's season-high round one score of 233.7 and West Ottawa's 233.2. Rockford maintained fourth through
the entire meet after starting with its top scores of 249.5504 in round one
and 249.5504 in the second round for a combined 478.7504.

"Those were our
highest round one and round two scores of the season," said Rockford coach Kathy Jo Resseguie. "We're thrilled with our performances and
to be moving on. We had better floor presence and energy. Being at home
always helps. It's a fun little bonus."

Going into the final
round of the district, Grandville was on top 490.3480 to East Kentwood's 484.8720 and West Ottawa's 483.9272. In the
third, Grandville scored 315.4, and Rockford had a final round
of 317.1.

The Falcons,
Panthers, Bulldogs and Rams will head to Brighton on Saturday for the
state regional tournament.