[dropcap size=”4″]D[/dropcap]espite the challenge of several team members leaving the team and adjusting to competing in a new division, the RBHS cheer team placed 8th in the Missouri State Cheerleading Championship on Saturday, Oct. 28. The squad was looking for redemption as they finished last at the state competition last November.
While Freshman base Ellie Barnett is new to the team and didn’t compete at state when the Bruins took 5th, she was equally as excited to compete in the larger category.
“I was so excited to get to compete at state,” Barnett said. “I had never competed at state without a guy on our team, I don’t know what a different division would be like. We put so much effort into that routine and we hit every stunt. We were expected to get 15th, but we defied the odds.”
This year the Bruins competed in the Small Coed division, a completely different beast than their previous division, 5A Large. The Small Coed division consists of 18 teams, whereas only 5 teams competed in the 5A Large division.
Senior backspot Elizabeth Curtright says that the more people in the competition, the more intimidating it is, but she was not afraid of the challenge.
[quote]“I wouldn’t say it’s harder or easier necessarily,” Curtright said. “There is a lot more competition in the Small Coed division though. We were up against 17 other teams this year as opposed to four other teams last year. In that sense, it’s probably harder in the Small Coed division as we had more teams to beat in order to win.”[/quote] Setting the nervousness aside, the team feels they left their blood, sweat and tears on the floor at the state competition.
“During our routine, I could tell that every single person on our team wanted to win and gave it their best [effort],” Barnett said. “For example, [sophomore base] Camryn Crowe did her back handspring without being super positive that she would land it.”
Being on the team for all four years she has spent at RBHS, Curtright leaves her high school cheer career feeling no remorse. She is proud of her teammates and their ability to overcome roadblocks to achieve success.
“I don’t have any regrets as I end my high school cheer career,” Curtright said. “Each and every one of my teammates had their own battle to fight when it came to the routine. There were people who were concerned about doing a particular skill at practice who executed it perfectly at state. I couldn’t have asked for anything more, especially after everything that happened this season.”
How do you think the RBHS cheer team will do next season? Let us know in the comments below.