GIRLS OF GOOD CHEER PEPPY TEAMS, CUTE 5-YEAR-OLD BRING HOME TROPHIES.

Byline: Sharon Cotal Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Santa Clarita Valley's Club Cheer had something to cheer about when the group took home two first-place trophies and one for second place from the West Coast championship competition held recently on the University of California, Irvine, campus.

The Hotties team of children in and below second grade got a first place in its category, and so did the Firecrackers team in competition for children in and below fourth grade. The Dynamites team - no members past ninth grade - got second place in its category.

Each team performed a 2 1/2-minute routine to music - cheering, dancing, tumbling and doing stunts. The teams practice their routines throughout the season to prepare for competition.

Club Cheer's first-ever solo competitor, 5-year-old Erin Meottel, won first place in her category. Winning against girls all older than she, Erin dazzled the judges in individual competition for children in or below second grade.

``She's a big ham. She loves being out in front of a crowd,'' said her mom, Lori Meottel. ``She seemed to just enjoy it more. She wasn't nervous, and she loved what she was doing.''

One of the Castaic Elementary School kindergartner's special moves is a double back handspring.

``I don't think she remembers life without cheerleading,'' her mother said. ``She loves it. She likes being around the girls and learning new tumbling moves.''

SCV Club Cheer, at 28065 Smyth Drive, Valencia, will hold tryouts for its 2005-06 competition teams May 9 through 14. For information, call [phone] or visit www.scvclubcheer.com.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Dozens of girls in and below ninth grade practice cheerleading in a local club. They brought home some West Coast trophies recently.

(2) Erin Meottel, 5, shows off her trophy as individual West Coast champion among cheerleaders in and below second grade.