The Apalachee High School competition cheerleading team enjoyed the big stage last Friday.
The Cheer Cats finished 13th at state sectionals but the experience was well worth the trip to Columbus, team coaches said.
“This weekend was incredible,” said coach Meridith Wages. “We left on Thursday morning to head to Columbus. We practiced at Hardaway High School in Columbus on Thursday night where we had the most intense practice of the season. Our kids were determined to make it happen.
After practice, the team went to dinner with a relaxed frame of mind.
“As a coach you always worry about providing the right level of intensity in warm-ups to get your kids feeling confident prior to stepping on the mat,” Wages said. “We, as coaches focus on remaining calm and confident to model the level in which we want our kids to work. Friday morning, our kids seemed so relaxed — almost too much — but as soon as we stepped into the first rotation and skills began rolling out our kids’ intensity levels were feeding off of each other. They were fired up and they were believers that we would be in the top eight to advance on to state finals.”
Wages said the Cheer Cats were “close to flawless” despite a few timing issues.
“Clean routines always win,” the coach said. “Many of the teams we competed against displayed a higher level of difficulty than us, however, because we have strongly focused on making the absolute best of what we have and hitting a clean routine our kids performed well enough to be the seventh place team with a score of 236. McIntosh High School scored a 237 and they would’ve been right ahead of us. So this demonstrates how close the competition was.”
Luck didn’t seem to be on the AHS squad’s side, however, as the Cheer Cats had a few “fluke” deductions that kept them out of the finals.
“A hair bow deduction and an over rotation in a handspring tuck cost us points,” Wages said. “GHSA cheerleading has an abundance of rules in which we must follow from proper techniques for stunting down to shoe laces being tied properly. When competing so closely with teams stacked with such talent you can’t afford to lose any points in deductions. It was unfortunate for our kids, but we as coaches look at it in the light that they had the performance to advance on to the finals, and that is what really matters most.”
The AHS coaches praised the team for the improvements made this fall.
“The strides this team has made this season is indescribable,” Wages said. “I feel confident, if anything, these kids learned the importance of hard work in actually making goals attainable.”
AHS then supported the Winder-Barrow High School Cheer Doggs Saturday at the finals.
“We have a wonderful group of athletes,” Wages said. “It is so exciting to know what the future holds for this program. We are already inquiring about possibilities for next year with great excitement and plan to begin working towards next season within the next month. We want kids to begin enrolling in tumbling and stunting classes if interested in trying out next year and will host tryouts sometime after the first of the year.”
Seniors on this year’s squad include Ashley Caughey, Suzy Groen, Lindsey Pritchett and Lauren Stapleton.
Juniors include Jade Rogers, Caitlin Blalock, Reaggan Perkins, Rebecca Powers, Shannon Basford and Alyssa Harrison.
Sophomores include Taylor Walker, Jordan Tullis, Carlee Brodie, Chelsey O’Connell, Shelby Hanna, Victoria Gaddis and Alexis Mosely Freshmen include Madi Massey and Jennifer Newman.
