Sunday, March 20, 2005

Sports

Pirate cheer squad earns Class C state runners-up

By SCOTT YOSHONIS Sports Writer

GRAND
RAPIDS - Pewamo-Westphalia is the 2005 state runner-up in competitive cheer,
as the Pirates took second place in the MHSAA State Class C-D finals, at the
Deltaplex in Grand Rapids on March 12.

P-W has one
of the best competitive cheer programs in the state, having won the MHSAA
state title six times, the last time in 2003.

With a
three-round cumulative score of 677.0, P-W added a chapter to the long and
successful history of Pirate cheerleading, missing out on the state title,
won by Breckenridge, by just 17.5 points.

After
having coached her last cheerleading meet for P-W, retiring head coach Kami Neal was pleased with her team's finish.

"They
did a great job," she said. "There were a few bobbles and stuff,
especially in round three, but pretty much everything went well."

P-W led the
competition after the first round of the competition.

"Round
two has always been P-W's weakest round," Neal said. "Round one and
round three are their best rounds."

In addition
to team captains Kylie Cherpes and Trina Schneider,
Neal notes that her young team, which includes 10 freshmen, was in good hands
all season long.

"I had
six seniors," she said, "and they are all exceptional
leaders."

Neal leaves
the program on a high note, just a sliver away from capturing the school's
seventh cheer state title.

"The
girls should be absolutely proud of themselves," Neal said. "I'm
proud of them. No matter what place they were in, they were champions to me.
They're one of the best teams to come out of P-W, and I think they showed
everybody that this year."