Grandville
cheer team eyes state finals

Thursday,
March 09, 2006

By Dean
Holzwarth

The Grand Rapids Press

The Grandville competitive cheer team entered this season with its sights set on redeeming
themselves after last year's disappointing finish at the Class A state
finals.

The Bulldogs placed an
uncharacteristic fifth at the state meet, which was their lowest finish in
school history.

Grandville made sure they would
have an opportunity for redemption when it secured a spot at this weekend's
state finals by placing second at a Class A regional Saturday at Portage Northern High School.

The Bulldogs will compete at 10
a.m. Saturday at DeltaPlex in Walker
against the remaining 11 state qualifiers in Class A.

"What happened last year has
been a motivating force for us," Grandville coach Julie Smith-Boyd said.
"I met with the seniors in June and they talked about what they wanted
for this year and they don't want it to end like it did last year."

Grandville also gained extra
incentive for this weekend by seeing its 11-year run at regionals
come to an end. It had captured 11 straight regional titles before East Kentwood took that honor away by less than two
points.

The Bulldogs, who won the O-K Red
Conference title this season, tallied a three-round score of 747, while the
Falcons achieved a winning score of 748.2.

"I think that there's a little
bit of motivation there, but qualifying (for the state finals) was the most
important part," said Smith-Boyd, who along with East
Kentwood coach Stacy Sheler, were honored as regional coaches of
the year.

"I can't be disappointed with
our scores because some of them were the highest that we've had all season. I
was happy with our performance and we're ready to go for Saturday."

The Bulldogs will attempt to
reprise their role as state champions when they take the mat on Saturday.
They won a state title in 2004 and will be challenged by defending champion Rochester, Southgate Anderson and East
Kentwood.

Jenison and Hudsonville also took part in
last week's Class A regional, but missed out on state berths as only the top
two teams advanced.

The Wildcats placed fourth, while
the Eagles took fifth.

Grandville also placed Kristen Roe,
Katey Markini, Leah Petrauskas and Melissa Byxbe on
the all-region team.