Varsity cheer competed at the UIL state competition in Fort Worth on Jan. 15 and placed 12th out of 68 in the 6A D1 division, beating 80 percent of competitors.

The team had the opportunity to work with multiple choreographers in preparation for competition starting in August. Head varsity cheer coach Darla Dockekal and assistant coach Kristen Charlesworth flew a choreographer to Texas from Tennessee in addition to working with college cheerleaders and coaches to receive feedback.

Cheer spent time preparing for the competition, using team bonding exercises in addition to practice.

“My favorite part about the team trip was team bonding at bowling,” varsity cheerleader Ady Sublett said. “My group dressed up as flamingos because we thought it was cute and fun.”

The UIL state competition contains multiple routine elements, such as tumbling, stunting, jumping, and crowd-leading. Charlesworth and Dockekal worked together to showcase each cheerleader’s individual skills while performing to impress the judges.

Only having one shot to impress the judges caused uneasiness for every cheerleader, and even Charlesworth.

“I was very excited for my team, and anxious to see how their performance would be,” Charlesworth said. “Everyone’s confidence was boosted after our warm up practice went really well.”

The results from UIL are the best SV has seen in years. Cheer nervously performs the first time for Prelims, hoping to stay in the competition and advance to the final round.

Proud of her team, Charlesworth continues to strive for the team’s success. “We are happy with our placement, but there is always room to improve,” Charlesworth said.

“Our finals performance was the best routine we had done and it was the perfect way to finish our season off together,” junior Landry Poss said.

With the 2021-2022 season coming to a close, tryout prep is now taking place for returning and aspiring cheerleaders.