The Reeths-Puffer competitive cheer team had an up-and-down experience last week, with a strong performance at an important conference tournament, then a disappointing finish at a road trip invitational following several injuries to team members.
The Rockets finished a strong second place at last Wednesday’s O-K Green conference meet at Zeeland East. R-P totaled 701.62 points, behind only first-place Mona Shores, which had 751.12.
R-P scored a 220.4 in Round 1 (execution), 200.52 in Round 2 (overall skills) and 280.7 in Round 3 (stunts).
Rockets head coach Lisabeth Smith credited freshman Taryn Gill for a strong performance and noted that the team did well against very touch conference competition.
Photos/Hayley Steenhagen
“We had a dip in scores, which is typical for conference meets,” she said. “It’s a challenging conference with talented teams. We are a very young team with lots of growth ahead.”
R-P had a much tougher time competing in the Hartland Heat Competitive Cheer Invitational on Saturday, due to injuries and the need to change strategy at the last minute.
R-P finished fifth out of six teams in Division 2. The Rockets had a total score of 699.78. Zeeland West won with 727.64 points.
The Rockets had a 217.4 score in Round 1, 194.08 in Round 2 and 296.3 in Round 3.
Coach Smith credited senior Sydney Williams and sophomore Madilynn Smith for performing well and helping the team get through the challenging day.
“The team rallied around demanding changes under stressful circumstances and still was a top scoring D2 team in Round 3,” she said.
The Rockets will return to action in another conference meet on Wednesday at Wyoming.
