Gull Lake rallies in Wolverine meet

Thursday,
February 02, 2006

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RICHLAND -- Gull Lake's competitive
cheer team followed its recipe from previous competitions, coming from behind
in the third round to defeat runner-up Allegan, 699.3-689.3, in the season's
next to last Wolverine Conference meet.

The win virtually locked up the
conference title for the host Blue Devils, who would have to stumble badly in
the final conference meet Feb. 25 at Otsego to allow Allegan a shot at the
title.

Gull Lake, No. 2 in the latest Class B state
rankings, also trailed fifth-ranked Allegan after two rounds in the previous
two conference competitions.

Wednesday, Gull Lake
jumped on top after round one, but trailed the Tigers by two points,
404.3-402.3, after the second round.

``They (Allegan) are really strong
with their tucks and the other requirements in the second round.'' said Gull
Lake senior captain Molli Balcom,
who along with co-captain Emily Gesmundo is a
four-year varsity performer. ``We know going into the meet that we will have
to do a great job with our third-round performance.''

Despite an execution error, Gull Lake
piled up a score of 297 to Allegan's 285 in the
third round, to outdistance the Tigers.

Plainwell took third place with
645.9. Three Rivers finished fourth with 632. Otsego, Vicksburg and South Haven rounded out the
field.

Comstock doesn't sponsor
competitive cheer.

Gull Lake, brimming with confidence after
narrowly losing to top-ranked Chesaning (691-686) on Saturday, knew not to
overlook anyone in its own conference.

``This sport is all about
execution,'' long-time Gull
Lake coach Julie Jones
said. ``If you don't execute, it leaves the door open for the other teams to
get winning points. As competitive as this conference is, it leaves little
room for error.''