MONTAGUE — Montague has been focused on achieving more of what coach Penny Grinage-Guy calls "pretty points" in recent weeks - those hidden points that judges mark down for little things like shuffling of feet instead of coming to a full stop, or teetering when performing lifts.
The 'Cats aren't fully where they want to be yet, but Wednesday night they came as close as they have all season to taking Hart's top spot in the West Michigan Conference, earning another second-place finish with 691.98 points - less than 10 away from the Pirates.
They did it with what the coaches felt were the team's best rounds two and three of the season. The coaches couldn't hide their excitement even during the round three routine as their athletes hit the marks they were hoping for.
"I told them going into round three that
they weren't that far from Hart, and that gave us some motivation," Grinage-Guy said. "They
performed, in my opinion, probably the best round three that I've seen
them do. We've still got
work, but it was a strong round three."
Montague scored 292.8 points in that third round and 190.18 in round two. If the Wildcats had avoided the 10 penalty points they were charged in round two, they'd have won the meet, but Grinage-Guy credited Markaya Ashley, who comes in and works with the girls on gymnastic skills, for boosting the team in the second round.
While the near-miss may sting a bit in the short term, it's hardly a major concern now for the Montague coaches, whose team achieved the goal set to start the year by finishing second in the WMC. Next up is the coming postseason, where Montague thinks it's among the seven or so teams with a legitimate chance at those pivotal top four positions in the district and accompanying regional berths.
The Wildcats are still aiming high, even trying to convince the coaches to put in a more difficult skill in the third round.
"They'd like to put (that skill)
in, but they have to convince us that it's not going to hurt us, because you put a higher level skill and you take the chance
of falling," Grinage-Guy said.
Whitehall's cheer team opens its round one routine during Wednesday's Montague Jamboree. The Vikings used an unorthodox formation to open the routine, with athletes standing very close together. Whitehall finished in 4th place.
As for Whitehall, the Vikings finished fourth, a step up from the fifth-place spot they seemed stuck in a year ago. Whitehall had its highest round three score of the season - 269.3 points - and scored 642.84 points in all.
The Vikes came out for round one in an unorthodox lineup, with every girl pressed together as if trying to form a large triangle, which coach Karlie Sika said she borrowed from a college dance team she saw do something similar.
"How can I make this cheer, but still super fun and bring the girls' passion out?" Sika said she asked herself.
"That's what I tried to do, but still making it tight so their execution could be good, and they love it."
The team, Sika said, has improved every week and is coming off a confidence-building outing at Fruitport over the weekend. They too want to pursue a regional bid, but more than that, wants to deliver one day where they hit on everything they try.
"The best thing
that I can ask for as a coach is for them to finish every single round at
one competition the best that they've ever done it so they can be proud of
themselves," Sika said. "If we make it out of regionals, I think that would be
amazing, but no matter what, I want us to finish at our best."
