West Holmes cheer team grabs state runner-up spot
The West Holmes High School cheer team found plenty of success at the recent OASSA State Cheer Competition, where they earned a runner-up spot in the nontumbling/nonbuilding competition.
While people may envision a group of young women standing on the sidelines leading cheers at the local high school football and basketball games when they think about cheerleading, there is much more that goes into the sport that just that.
The West Holmes cheer team exhibited just how much hard work and dedication to their craft can pay off recently when the team brought home the silver at a competition on March 3 at Big Walnut High School in Sunbury, Ohio.
The West Holmes Competition Cheer Team earned the OASSA state runner-up trophy in the nontumble/nonbuilding competition this past weekend in the Ohio Cheerleading Championships.
The success continues a long-standing tradition of excellence for a program that prides itself on teamwork, unity and seeking to perfect all of the little things that judges look for in cheer competition.
With 11 team members performing including six seniors and five underclassmen, the Lady Knights cheer team rolled out its best effort in capturing runner-up honors.
Included in the team are Kenzie Miller, Hannah Wolfe, Erikah Cline, Rachel Graebner, Abbi Price, Bree Pringle, Mia Aufrance, Paityn Morris, Kyle Miller, Sophia Whytsell and Kaylin Williams.
The team began practicing in October with conditioning, then set about practicing nearly every night until the state tournament.
Pringle, one of the team’s seniors, said syncing up the timing and precision and the athletic moves and endurance that accompany the 2 1/2-minute performance is demanding, and people would be surprised at the amount of preparation both mentally and physically doing a routine of that length takes.
“We know sideline cheer is something many people don’t consider a sport, but the competition part of it is really our time to compete and go up against some great teams from other schools, and it is a demanding sport, but it is our time to shine and compare ourselves to some of the other great cheer teams out there,” Pringle said.
The girls agreed part of what drives this crew to demand near-perfection from one another is their overriding drive to compete.
The team also competed at Best in the State and earned second place and qualified for the state competition by posting a hugely successful regional effort.
The intensity of the state tournament couple with the physical demand places a great deal of pressure on the girls, and when every tiny misstep creates deductions, the pressure is perhaps greater than in most sports.
The success was expected, yet when they were announced as runner-up, they were still somewhat surprised.
“You always strive to win, but I was a little surprised and thrilled that we got second,” freshman Kyle Miller said.
The team is led by advisers Raven Wilcox and Beth Gallion, and they received an extra boost this year, getting some expert professional choreography from Shane Sanders.
The routine was demanding, with the team executing 13 jumps, more than any other team in the competition.
While the pressure of performing is intense, each of the girls said what was worse was standing there waiting to perform.
Pringle said they did their stretching exercises and ran through a miniature version of their routine backstage as they got ready. Then there was that seemingly endless moment before they actually got to perform.
“It seemed like we waited there forever before we actually got to go out and perform,” sophomore Paityn Morris said.
“I think just standing there thinking about it was more intense than actually going out and performing,” Pringle said.
“Everyone backstage is telling you good luck, and you’re just thinking to yourself, ‘Just let us get out there to do our thing,’” Miller said.
Once they did set up and started their cheer routine, everything fell into place.
“You know, once we started going, I think all of the practice we put in and all of the time we spent getting here just kind of naturally takes over,” Pringle said. “You kind of just zone out and do it.”
What may have pumped the girls up even more was immediately prior to hitting the floor to compete, the song “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield was playing over the loudspeaker.
That particular song is one the team plays continually for inspiration and to pump themselves up.
“That was a surprise, but it was so perfect,” Sophie Whytsell said.
Once they were finished with the routine, the girls agreed there was a collective sigh of relief as the adrenaline wore off and they had a chance to think about their performance.
The nontumbling/nonbuilding competition eliminates all tumbling and toss activity, meaning the West Holmes team’s performance was more geared toward dance, and it is a test of endurance, speed and strength.
“It’s almost like a two minute, 30 second sprint,” Pringle said.
With several freshmen on the team and six seniors, the upper-class crew took on a leadership role.
That blend of young and old should pave the way for more success in the future as the younger girls take on more of a leadership role.
“I think the young kids did a really great job of stepping up and taking on the responsibility of showing up and giving a great effort all season,” Pringle said. “It can get repetitive and boring at times, but that’s how we get better.”
Getting better got pretty good as the team hoisted the runner-up hardware, something that will only inspire future generations of cheer teams to go for the gold.