Otsego cheer qualifies
for regional with third-place showing

By Jason Wesseldyk

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Members
of the Otsego cheer team perform one of their routines during the Wolverine
Conference tournament. The Bulldogs, who won the league title, placed third
at districts on Saturday, Feb. 21, to qualify for regional competition.
(Photo by Stephanie Watkins)

The Otsego competitive
cheer team survived to fight another day.

Despite some mistakes in round one and a penalty in round two, the host
Bulldogs managed to place third in Division 3 district action on Saturday,
Feb. 21, thereby earning a berth in the Coopersville regional.

The Bulldogs, who finished with 722.051 points, will be joined at regionals by district champ Holland Christian (736.3292),
runner-up Lakewood (723.7064) and
fourth-place finisher Lansing Catholic (685.8974).

For Otsego coach Nicole Durr, the disappointment of
missing out on a district championship was tempered by the fact that her team
kept its season alive.

“We obviously would have loved to win the title, but at the same time
we’re definitely happy that we’re advancing,” said Durr, who was voted District Coach of the Year. “We
had quite a few good teams in our district, and I thought we did well, as did
the rest of the teams from the Wolverine Conference that were
here. All five teams from our conference placed in the top 10.”

While the Bulldogs struggled—by their standards—in the first two
rounds, they returned to form for round three, winning it with a score of
303.4.

“My girls had a
bit of rough day with a few mistakes in round one and a penalty in round
two,” Durr said.

“But they definitely shook it off and had a great round three.

“We have had some injuries the past couple of weeks, which has caused
some changes here and there to our cheers. So the girls are still working out
the kinks. I am very pleased with how well they have kept a great attitude
during the changes, which helps a ton. They also showed great sportsmanship
to the other teams like they have all season. They love to watch and cheer
for the other teams and to just have a great time at every meet.”

According to Durr, the senior leadership of Chelsie Johnson, Kaila Schmitt and Emily Stack played a
vital role in Otsego’s ability to stay focused in spite of its
mistakes.

Schmitt and Stack earned second-team All-District for their efforts, while
Johnson was an Honorable Mention selection. Rebekah
Greene, Alex Watkins and Jordan Reeber all
represented Otsego on the first-team All-District squad.

“All of the girls gave their best, and I would like to especially
acknowledge my seniors—Chelsie, Kaila and
Emily—for a great year and their spectacular leadership.”

The road back to the
state finals doesn’t get any easier for Otsego from here, with a
regional that includes some of the state’s best teams.

“Regionals will be a very tough meet,” Durr
said. “I definitely think our region is a much tougher region overall
than the other Division 3 region. All 12 teams are great teams, with last
year’s state champ (Chippewa Hills) and runner-up (Comstock Park) among those teams.

“It’s really going to come down to who has the best day and who
leaves it all on the mat in each round. We will definitely be having our
toughest week of practice this week to get ready. My girls are very excited
and look forward to the challenge.”

Three other local schools also competed at the Otsego district. Allegan
placed 10th with a 593.9856, Hamilton was 13th with a
565.827 and Hopkins finished 14th with a
557.9.

DIVISION 2

Plainwell was among the 14 teams to take to the mats in Mattawan.

The Trojans, fresh off a third-place showing in the Wolverine Conference
tournament a week earlier, completed their three rounds with 669.587 points
to finish eighth.

DIVISION 4

At Climax-Scotts,
Martin finished 10th in the 11-team field. The Clippers finished with 484.36
points.

Colon won the championship, with Gobles,
Bloomingdale and Schoolcraft also advancing to the regional level.