As the competition season for cheerleaders begins every year, there come feelings of elation, frustration, motivation, and grit. Whether it is stunting, tumbling, jumping, or other cool tricks, LHS Cheer is a sport that does not disappoint.

The season started off rocky as the LHS Varsity Cheer Team was unable to compete in the first competition. However, with a lot of hard work and dedication the team came back strong in the second competition of the season to place third overall. The team’s three captains, Emily Murphy, Braydon West, and Maya Rubin worked very hard to maintain team spirit and motivation throughout the season.

On top of practicing for competition, LHS Cheerleaders also spent time practicing for sideline cheer. In order to engage with fans and cheer on the LHS football team, sideline captains, Jordan Damian, Emily Murphy, and Ariana Holloway, lead the way in pumping up the crowd, encouraging fans to have spirit while supporting our magnificent football team. The cheers and stunts performed motivated the crowd and the football team to improve their performance.

With the district and regional competitions coming up, Coach Channing worked very hard on making changes to improve the routine and enhance the level of difficultly. 2021 District Champions, Regional Champions, and 3rd at the State Competition, Lafayette cheerleaders are trying to live up to this title for the 2022 season. Team practices ran daily with training for endurance, stunt and skill repetitions, and full-out routines.

Additionally, with the expertise of Coach Wynne, Coach Marq Delk, and Coach Hannah Murphy the choreography and level of difficulty of the routine was enhanced greatly. At the District Competition, Lafayette was the highest scoring Region 3A team with a third-place win. The team was proud of their accomplishments but knew they had a lot of hard work ahead of them in order to be successful at the Regionals Competition. While the team was working hard preparing for Regionals, they also took time to engage in team bonding activities and school spirit events. They not only put on an amazing performance at the annual homecoming pep rally where they “hit zero,” but they also participated in the traditional homecoming parade supporting all LHS students.

When the day for Regionals finally arrived, the team was excited and wanted to live up to their legacy as they placed first last year. Lafayette had a stellar performance and placed third in the first round, which meant they would be moving onto round two. In round two, only the top two teams move onto States, and unfortunately Lafayette placed third and did not move on. However, the coaches and cheerleaders were very proud of all of their hard work, dedication, and grit they displayed throughout the season.

All the hard work did not go unnoticed, as three of our  senior cheerleaders were chosen for the All-District Team. Congratulations to Emily Murphy, Braydon West, and Ariana Holloway for being chosen for the All-Bay Rivers District Cheer Team. Their contributions and dedication to the team are appreciated and admired. As they say, “Teamwork makes the dream work” and the LHS Cheer Team has proven this time and time again with all of their success.