Hawkeyes' new tricks help cheer team rack up
points

Thursday,
January 27, 2005By Steve Fox

The Grand Rapids Press

HAMILTON -- The Hawkeyes
enjoy flying this year.

Second-year Hamilton competitive
cheer coach Becky Rosel said her team was weak in
the area of stunts last year. That's all changed.

"We're definitely
improved from last year. Our scores are already better than they were at the
end of last year, so that's promising," Rosel
said. "We have much improved stunting this year."

Brandy Boerman, Denise Dietrich, Nicole Moore and Katie Putnam
join co-captains Jen Berens and April Cook as the
six seniors on the squad. But some newcomers also are making an impact,
especially in the stunts.

"We got two new
fliers," Cook said. "They're both freshmen, and they're really
good. We've been able to do a lot more advanced stunts."

Rosel said while the fliers are part of
it, the stunt groups need total effort to make a routine work. Each stunt
group includes four girls.

"They're all very
committed and working hard, and they want to do better," Rosel said. "It takes all four of them doing their
thing to get it to work."

Cook said the change this
year is largely due to a commitment to working together. "It takes
trust," she said of the improved stunts.

The Hawkeyes
have placed sixth in a pair of invitational events. Rosel
said the scores have been better than last year, and she expects to move up
in the O-K Rainbow Tier 3 standings after taking seventh last year.

She said another reason
to expect a higher finish is a marked improvement in one-legged stunts.
One-legged stunts require the flier to start with balancing on a leg -- not
switching to just one after being lifted.

"Last year, we just
really struggled with getting one-legged stunts," Rosel
said. "This year, they're going up like they've been doing them
forever."

© 2005 Grand Rapids Press. Used
with permission

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