Cedar Springs Varsity Cheer competed in District Finals at Kenowa Hills last Saturday, February 16. The best four teams from the District competitions held at Kenowa Hills, Thornapple Kellogg, and Mt. Pleasant would advance to the regional competition at Cedar Springs this coming Saturday. The pressure was on. The Lady Hawks would need to perform three outstanding rounds in order to earn the honor of being one of the best 12 teams on the west side of Michigan.
With a Round 1 score of 212.6 and a Round 2 score of 189.6, the Red Hawks were in 5th place leading into Round 3. Fifth place is no place to be, when it comes to competitive cheer districts. Only the top four schools advance to the regional competition. The Red Hawks had to make up the 2.08 points they were behind after 2 rounds in order to place high enough to advance.
“Going into round 3, I was discouraged, but I used my feeling to give it all I had,” said senior, Katelyn Maka. “I did not want that to be my last competition and I gave it my all to ensure that it wasn’t.”
Junior Kristen Schreiber added, “I have never wanted something so much before. I went out for round 1 and gave it every ounce of energy I could give. Knowing we were only one place away from getting that (4th place) spot pushed me that much harder in round 3.”
The team did pull together and performed their best round 3 of the season! “It was a tight competition, and even though we are a young team, we proved that we could come together and pull through”, said senior Briana Pierson. Their score of 291.9 pulled the Hawks up to the 4th place position, almost 10 points higher than 5th place and only 3.5 points behind Sparta. Kenowa Hills took the 1st place position and Grand Rapids Christian, 2nd.
“I could not be more proud to coach these girls,” remarked coach Anna Ramirez. “Each week these girls continue to grow and make changes and corrections. I am proud of their hard work, perseverance, and dedication to improve.”
The top four teams at Regionals (hosted by Cedar Springs at 10 a.m. on Saturday February 23) will be advancing to State Finals on Saturday, March 2, at 10 a.m. at the Delta Plex.
