DeWitt settled for sixth place in the Division 2 state competitive cheer meet on March 8 at the DeltaPlex Arena in Grand Rapids.
DeWitt was at 226 and in fifth place after the first round, and at 454.6 after the second round to stay in fifth. But Round 3 knocked DeWitt to sixth place.
Gibraltar Carlson won the meet, with Divine Child Catholic in second, Brandon in third, Allen Park in fourth, and Kenowa Hills in fifth.
Candace Heskitt is in her fourth year of coaching DeWitt. “The girls did awesome,” she said. “We were so happy to be at state and start building another tradition. There were a lot of expectations. The girls rose to the occasion. They had excellent performances. There are some things I would have liked to have improved upon.”
Members of the DeWitt team were MacKenzie Anderson, Amanda Bidelman, Colleen Curtiss, Lexi Daniel, Caroline Deak, Britney Gordon, Alyssa Hoffman, Kaelyn Jenkins, Savannah Kinne, Marissa Kinney, Audrey Koenigsknecht, Melanie Miller, Alyssa Mullen, Delaney Norton, Callen O’Keefe, Morgan Pike, Alysssa Reed, Rachel Rick, Ashley Summerton, Katie Sweeney, Emily Vermeersch, and Erin Wieferich.
The state finals experience will be huge for the 13 girls returning to the team, Heskitt said. “It will open up their eyes.”
Koenigsknecht is among the seniors on the team who was elated at being in the state finals.
“It’s meant the world to me,” she said. “It’s everything that I’ve wanted. I think we all did our best and gave it everything we had.”
It was a new experience for her teammates, but Koenigsknecht felt they all handled it well.
“It don’t think we were nervous,” she said. “We were more excited. We knew what we had to do. We went out there and gave it our all.”
Alyssa Hoffman was among the juniors on the team.
“I think we left it all on the mat,” she said. “We really came together as a team and had fun.”
Being at the state finals will help the squad for next season, Hoffman said. “It gives us experience and more of a drive to get here next year and be even better. I think we really thrived on what we were doing. We lived up to the pressure and performed the way we know we can in front of all the people.”
Another senior for DeWitt was Delaney Norton, who was a four-year cheerleader.
“This season has been a surprise for me and everyone on the team,” she said. “Round 1 was definitely our strongest round. Round 2 ended up being one of our strongest rounds.”