E-L-K-H-O-R-N! The cheer team tumbled, stunted and jumped its way to 4th and 5th place finishes at the Nebraska State Cheer Championships Saturday, February 22nd.
The team tailored it’s training to peak as state approach them.
“We usually have practices Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, from 6:00 to 7:30,” junior Parker Stevens said. “We practiced for a little bit more because we needed more time so we could perfect our routines.”
The team’s girls hard work and extra practices definitely paid off when they got their place.
“The girls set a goal, they worked hard, and they achieved their goal in both categories,” Head Coach Stacie Stevens said. “We got fifth out of 23 in game day and then we got fourth out of 13 in traditional and missed third place by only one point.”
Even though the team did great, the lead-up to state can come with a little bit of stress.
“During warm ups our stunts all fell down and we were all stressed because we were about to go on so we were worried we weren’t going to hit.” sophomore Jillian Narber said,
Even though state came with some worry and stress the team still managed to find the fun through it all.
“Even with high expectations, we still performed well and had a good time amd since the team is all together it is fun,” Narber said,
Stressful and fun times all come with the experience with state but it really just matters about the effort and what the girls took away from the experience of it all.
“The biggest takeaway from state that the girls got was the confidence the girls now have in each other,” Coach Stevens said. “They now believe in themselves and the new program.”
Stevens said the team did a great job putting forth their best effort and made some great memories along the way.
“The team put all their heart and energy out there on the floor, and they hit both routines, and that’s all we could do,” Coach Stevens said. “That’s all we asked for and that’s all we practiced for.”