Sunday,
March 6, 2005

Panthers claim regional
cheer title

By LUKAS CIMBAL Special to The
Sentinel

JENISON
-- The West Ottawaa competitive cheer team
proved that a synchronized, cohesive unit can accomplish great things.

On Saturday,
the Panthers displayed their cohesiveness in claiming the Class A regional championship at Jenison High School.

The Panthers
scored 734.5 points to claim the regional title. West
Ottawa has now won six consecutive regional crowns.

"I knew
it was gonna be really close because Jenison, East
Kentwood and us have been really close all year," said West
Ottawa coach Kelli Polinskey. "We knew it was gonna be a tough battle, but I'm really happy with the
outcome.

"I'm
really proud of the girls. They did a really good job in all three rounds
today."

The Panthers
got started early, as they fed off the energy from their boisterous and
enthusiastic fans to score 197.5 points en route to leading after the first
round.

"It's
amazing to see all the support we get from the fans," said senior Brianna
Hammond.

"All of
our parents have been with us for six years, so everything we accomplish on
every Saturday is all for them," said senior Amanda Wiersma.

West Ottawa kept things rolling in the second round, as
all 14 girls in the round performed flawlessly. The Panthers executed a
back-tuck to highlight a score of 220.5 points in the round.

"Last
year we were all over the place (on our back-tucks)," Wiersma
said. "We exceeded our expectations in round two."

The Panthers
and their fans sensed another trip to the state finals was imminent as they led
East Kentwood by five points going into the
third round.

West Ottawa,
ranked second in the state by the coaches association, began its final round
with one member of its team flying through the air, and then was able to relax
as four groups of four team members each worked together to finish off the
night in style.

"I
think the girls handled the pressure really well," said Polinskey.
"They continue to improve each week, and we've had some really strong
performances and scores the last few meets.

"We
want to make sure that we can improve each week so we can peak at state."

East
Kentwood advanced along with West Ottawa to
the upcoming state rinals. East
Kentwood finished in second place with a total of 731.5 points.
Host Jenison finished third with 716 points.

The state
finals are set for next Saturday at 6 p.m. in Grand Rapids at the Delta Plex.

"I
think that everyone was really into it tonight," said Hammond.

"This
is something that we had as a goal all year," said Wiersma.
"We have a lot of seniors, and the whole team pulled together for us."