The Titans varsity cheer team are state champions for the second year in a row, officially earning the girls a ticket to Nationals in February at Disney World.
Winning states is a major accomplishment, and can change the teams attitude for the rest of the season after the girls see that their hard work is paying off.
“Winning states has given us a more positive mindset because we know that all the work we put in is worth it,” senior Ally Hodges said.
Even though the girls won states, they still have more goals set for themselves. With a year-round season, there’s a lot that they want to accomplish, so they don’t think their work is done quite yet.
“We have two more competitions before nationals, so we really want to win those. We also wanna make memories with each other and have fun,” sophomore Hannah Bovender said.
It takes a lot of devotion for the girls to cheer while balancing all of the practices they have in a year with very few breaks. They cheer for football, basketball and even have competitions to add on to cheering for the two sports. Ransome-Harper makes it very clear that the girls must be devoted and stay on track.
“We cheer for basketball and football in August through February, and then we move on to competition season from October through February. So the girls are cheering year-round, even during the summer when we attend team camps,” Ransome- Harper said.
The girls cheer for both basketball and football games, but the two sports are quite different.
“I think the biggest difference between the two is the atmosphere. And football only has one game a week but has bigger crowds, while basketball has multiple games a week and more intense crowds,” senior Mckenna Singer said.
During weeks where the girls have to cheer for multiple games it can be very difficult for them to balance all of their other priorities including school and other practices.
“Having multiple games a week makes it really hard to get school work done and get sleep. I usually stay up really late after games doing homework and rest on our off days,” Hodges said.
With the team being filled with mainly returning athletes, it is important to make sure that the younger girls know what they are doing.
“I think making sure new and younger people feel welcome and a part of the team is super important. Also making sure that if they struggle or have any questions that we are there to help,” Singer said.
The girls always find a way day in and day out to surprise Ransome-Harper, whether it’s getting a stunt down or perfecting their cheers. This team isn’t like teams she’s coached in the past.
“This year’s team differs from previous teams because it’s the smallest varsity team I’ve had, and we’re competing in the smaller division with just 15 people,” Ransoome-Harper said.
Now with states in the rear-view mirror it is time for the girls to focus on the remainder of the season and all of the other goals that they would like to accomplish by the end of this year, with the closest one being nationals next February in Florida.