Competitive Cheer Hits 700 Milestone
Lowell’s competitive cheer team delivered one of its strongest performances of the season, taking first place in its division at Comstock Park with an overall score of 700.5. It marked the first time this season the Red Arrows broke the 700-point barrier, a perennial goal for the program, and the total now ranks fifth on the Lowell High School all-time record board.
The Red Arrows posted a 216 in Round 1, a 193.2 in Round 2, and a 291.3 in Round 3, signaling a major step forward as the postseason approaches. According to head coach Dayna Bosma, the performance was the product of intentional changes and a team willing to adapt.
“It was an amazing day,” Coach Bosma said. “We made a ton of changes the Monday before and saw improvements in the categories we were working toward, but had a few mistakes. We were still happy with the 216 score.”
Round 2 saw the most significant transformation of the day.
“For round 2, we completely changed all of the skills except two of them,” Bosma said. “We went from a back handspring, front handspring, toe touch jump, switch splits, and back walkover to a front walkover, herkie jump, hurdler jump, switch splits, and back walkover.”
The changes also required shifting personnel within the round, reshaping both the look and execution.
“This change brought our score from the 180s to the 190s,” Bosma said. “That helped us reach the 700 goal. We’ve made changes this week to make it even stronger for districts.”
Round 3 has become a defining strength for the Red Arrows. Lowell’s roster features 26 athletes, though only 16 can compete in Rounds 1 and 3. Those not on the mat remain matside, providing constant energy and support, something that becomes especially important during the high-intensity third round.
“We have the most difficult round 3 we have ever done,” Bosma said. “The team wanted a more challenging round 3, and that is what we gave them.”
The routine still ends with the fan favorite pyramid sequence, with the beginning featuring more higher difficulty individual stunts.
“This round 3 has taken four spots of the top ten highest round 3s we have had. The max number of athletes you can put in round 1 and 3 is 16. That means only four flyers. A lot of our flyers can also base.”
That versatility has allowed Lowell to maximize its depth.
“In our round 3 right now, we have a flyer basing a stunt during running tumbling because that base is one of our tumblers,” Bosma said. “We have eight athletes on the team that can fly, and every single one of them has been able to compete as a flyer in round 3.”
Lowell’s 291.3 in Round 3 stands as one of the top scores the program has produced. For comparison, the Red Arrows scored a 295.9 at last year’s RCA Finals.
Districts Up Next
Lowell will compete at districts Friday at Cedar Springs, beginning at 6 p.m. The district field includes Ada Forest Hills Eastern, Allendale, Cedar Springs, Coopersville, Fruitport, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills, Grand Rapids Northview, Lowell, Muskegon, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, Sparta, and Wyoming Lee.
Four teams will advance to regionals. Lowell will look to build off last year’s sixth-place district finish, where the Red Arrows posted a 704 against a fairly similar field. All four regional qualifiers from a year ago, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, Grand Rapids Northview, and Cedar Springs, remain in this year’s district lineup.
