Varsity  is a company that serves as a supplier for all levels of cheerleading held a cheer competition at Apex Friendship High School on Saturday, February 3. This particular competition was the North Carolina State Cheerleading Championship (NCSCC). Teams from all over the state participated.

Athens Drive Magnet High School’s varsity cheer team was invited to compete. The team had also performed in the Wake County Cheer Competition a week before at Holly Springs High School. Competing in the medium varsity division the ladies placed fourth out of six. The size of your division is determined by the number of stunt groups competing for each team. The medium division consists of at most 16 athletes with four stunt groups, while the small division consists of at most 12 athletes and three stunt groups. At the NCSCC Athens Drive competed in the small varsity division.

After the first competition, the jaguars of Athens Drive saw from their score sheets that they needed to make changes to their routine. The ladies put in extra hours and practices to fix up things.

“I realized that it was a lot of technical and small things that needed to be fixed in our routine. The girls knew exactly what needed to be changed from the previous competition, going into the second one, said Morgan DeYoung, coach.

At the cheerleader’s practice, they began to rework stunts, cheers and the pyramid. There were major changes done to the pyramid but the team was focused and after 30 minutes they were able to hit it.

“It was difficult for us to try and rework the routine, especially because we only had two practices before our next comp,” said Sydney McCoy, junior.

At the final practice the team had a showcase to show parents and friends their final routine that they will compete with. The chant in the cheer was also taught to the parents so they will be able to participate while the team is competing.

Coming into the competition at Apex Friendship there were plenty of teams, coaches, judges and parents. There were also spectators to make sure everything was aligned and legal.

The Jaguars went to warm up before their performance. They were the first team to go out for the small varsity division.

“At first I was kind of nervous because we changed a few things in our routine, and i was worried we would not hit. Overall I was excited to go on because since our last competition, I had a lot more confidence,” said McCoy.

Athens went on and hit their entire routine, more teams followed and now it was time for judging. The announcer of the competition told all teams and cheerleaders to meet on the mat to get ready for awards. Starting at partner stunts leading up to the varsity whole team awards. Southern Lee High School placed first in the partner stunts. Next, the announcer started to mention top six for small varsity. There were 11 teams in this category, but only six were to be recognized and given a trophy. The top six schools that placed from first to sixth was Holly Springs High School, Millbrook High School, East Rowan High School, Athens Drive High School, West Carteret High School and Harnett Central High School.

“When the announcer said we got fourth, I was somewhat surprised because we competed against ten other teams from all over the state. Getting fourth I think is pretty awesome. I felt very proud of our team because we had worked so hard for the past month or two and it all payed off in the end,” said McCoy.