Bullock Creek came away with a strong fifth-place effort in the Division 3 competitive cheer state meet Saturday in Grand Rapids.
Richmond won the meet, while Comstock Park was second, Grosse Ile third, and Notre Dame Preparatory fourth.
Teresa Allen is in her fourth year as coach at Bullock Creek. Her roster consisted of seniors Brittany Fleming, Cassidy McCray, Andrea Parkinson, Jade Toper, and Andy Vercellino; juniors Kayla Collver and Amy Murphy; sophomores Elizabeth Grenesko, Brittanie McDaniel, and Katey Oslyn; and freshman Julie Hopfinger.
“It’s amazing,” Allen said. “We came in just to put in our best three rounds on the floor. To get fifth place, my girls and I are so proud of that, especially being our first time at the state finals.”
The team performed with so much poise that it didn’t appear that it was its first appearance in the state finals.
“Round 3 is by far our best round,” Allen said. “All season long, that’s been our best. All season long, it’s been a fan favorite and a judge favorite. We get a lot of comments about how everyone is loving it.”
One of Bullock Creek’s five seniors, Brittany Fleming, was on the varsity since her freshman season. “We exceeded [expectations],” she said of the state meet. “We came to have fun. We were just worrying about doing our best. It paid off.”
The team has come a long way in a short amount of time.
“Last year, we were second to last in our region,” she said. “This year, we were third.”
What if someone told her ahead of time her team would take fifth at the state meet?
Fleming laughed and replied, “I wouldn’t have believed them.”