The cheerleaders missed state qualification by 2.65 points, placing 7th out of 15 at sectionals. This is the closest the team has come since making state in 2012.
“They have that sense of accomplishment because our goal was to get close. We’re the closest we’ve been to going to state in five years,” Head Coach Karin Walker said. “It was an exciting season. We had ups and downs. We’ve learned a lot, and I’m really proud of my girls this year.”
The team had many high points during the season, such as placing 12th out of 21 teams at the annual Lake Zurich competition. This placement showed a great deal of improvement as the team scored 19th out of 21 teams last year.
“We improved a lot from last year. I think we are really building as a team and doing better than we were at the beginning of the season,” Kelsey Collins, senior, said.
Others look to this achievement as a jumping off point for greater accomplishments.
“I think it’s a great improvement. I think we have room to improve, but it was a great start,” Sydney Furmaniak, senior, said.
This new found success has come from multiple sources, enhancing the team’s versatility in all areas of cheer.
“I think a cheerleader should be very diverse in their skills and be able to do everything, because sometimes when you’re good at one thing you can’t do others,” Lauren Hug, senior, said.
The team will continue performing at basketball games through the end of the season, so the girls are all working hard to make sure that individually they can be the best that is physically possible.
“Personally, I’m trying to hit all of my stunts from now on, and not drop any of them,” Allison Rock, senior, said.
Walker is optimistic about the future of cheer.
“I think that pride in doing what they wanted to kind of gives that fuel for next year,” Walker said. “If they put those great smiles on, they hit those sharp motions, they have everything they need to get there.”
Although the team will not be continuing competitively, they are still full of spirit.
“We do a chant, we do wild cats on 3, champions on 6,” Rock said.
Armed with new uniforms and a positive attitude, the cheer team has everything they need to qualify for state next year.