Last August, when Donna Marty gathered the Albert Lea High School cheerleaders for their first practices of the season, each one began with a question-and-answer session.

Tuesday, February 05, 2002

Last August, when Donna Marty gathered the Albert Lea High School cheerleaders for their first practices of the season, each one began with a question-and-answer session.

&uot;What do we want?&uot;

&uot;Respect!&uot;

&uot;How do we get it?&uot;

&uot;Earn it!&uot;

Nearly six months later, Marty feels they’ve come a long way in that regard. And it’s tough to disagree.

Under Marty’s careful guidance and scrutiny, the cheerleaders have helped renew school spirit and gained the respect of athletes, fans and the community.

On Sunday, they put an exclamation point on their efforts. A group of 19 ALHS cheerleaders placed third in state competition at Concordia College in St. Paul. There were 14 teams in Albert Lea’s division of first-year squads. St. Clair won, finishing 12 points ahead of Albert Lea. Edina was second, six points out of first. New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva finished fifth.

&uot;It was kind of a nice showing for Southern Minnesota,&uot; said Marty.

And the Tigers made the most of their 2-minute, 30-second routine that included 56 stunts.

Teams are judged on several criteria, though Marty was particularly proud of one statistic.

&uot;We didn’t lose any points in safety violations,&uot; she said. &uot;That’s very important to me.&uot;

Competing for the Tigers were seniors Dana Seadlund, Kelsey Boyd, Amber Watney and Stacia Oyer, juniors Katie Hatcher, Kellie Jordahl, Lindsey Eagen, Krystal Paulson, Cari Eggum, Jenna Lageson, Jennifer Osmundson, Amy Sharpsteen, Amanda Jensen and Ashley Walton, sophomores Jodi Moen and Jordan Hagen, and freshmen Mary Beth Cook, Kelley Schreiber and Kristin Mummert.

Marty said the cheerleaders may enter another competition or perform their routine at halftime of an upcoming basketball game, though nothing is for sure. Tryouts for next year’s squad begin in March.