The cheer team won region divisionals on January 12th. They took first in sideline time out dance, first in sideline timeout cheer, first in show cheer, and first overall. Kate Palmer also won the jump off.
The girls have been preparing since this summer for competition. They learned they’re routines and worked to improve their skill. As it got closer to competition season they would have early morning practices once or twice a week. The team also performed their routines at the basketball games during halftime to help them see what needed to be cleaned before competition season started. Nikki Dong, senior captain, said, “The team spent many early mornings before school and long days during break, prepping for our competitions! They gave up sleep and winter break to prepare the winning routines by running over everything full out time after time, and practicing our strong and loud voices.”
The team had one competition prior to region. They were missing a few girls due to wrestling but were still able to compete and won third place. This competition allowed the team to qualify for nationals.
With only a week to make corrections to their routines after looking at the judges notes, the girls had to be ready for region.
The day came quickly and the team was excited and nervous. Saydee Thornton, a sophomore, said, “ we felt so excited to finally go out and perform everything we had worked hard for. Nerves were definitely high but we went out and had fun! While we were performing it felt so powerful and the atmosphere was amazing! The way you feel waiting for the music to turn on is a feeling I can’t even explain!”
The girls performed their routines to the best of their abilities. Being loud, going full out, and hitting their stunts. They ended feeling confident and proud of what they had just done.
After performing their routines the team had to wait for awards. The anticipation of being region champs sat in the back of the girls minds. When the judges announced that the team had won, the girls were ecstatic. Kate Palmer, junior, said “ being a region champ was such a rewarding feeling because all of our hard work had paid off! It was such a great opportunity and makes me excited to work even harder!”
The team isn’t done yet. On January 25th, the girls will be competing at state. Then a few weeks later they will finish the competition season competing at nationals in Florida on February 9-12 at Disney World.
