The Antioch Sequoit Cheer team took on the state championship in Bloomington, Illinois on February 7 and 8. The team went in with high expectations to get first. With their final performance of the season, the team was in it for the win together.
“Performing on the mat is surreal,” junior Kylee Craig said. “The energy is crazy with all the lights and people cheering, yet nothing matters except us on that floor. We all went in knowing exactly what we needed to do and left it all out there. I could not have been more proud of the team and the performances that we had.”
The cheerleaders performed on day one in the preliminary round. While hitting all their stunts, they left the mat with no deductions or regrets. When awards were announced the cheerleaders scored a 91.96 in first place in hopes to maintain that for the final round.
“This weekend was everything I could hope for,” senior Paul Valdivia-Valencia said. “This team is amazing and I am so proud to be a part of such a high caliber team. This team is so talented and I love each and every one of them. Hitting both days was the best feeling ever. We have worked so hard for this moment and we left everything we could have out on the mat. I couldn’t have conquered all these obstacles without them by my side. I want to thank them for my best and final year as an Antioch varsity cheerleader. This was truly a good year to end on.”
In high hopes of taking home the gold back to Antioch, the cheerleaders, coaches and fans have been very pleased with the season the team has had thus far. With the goal of hitting their routine along with no deductions was reached.
Taking on the medium division, hungry to maintain their first place standing in the finals. At 11:25 a.m. the Sequoit cheerleaders took the floor and gave out their best performance throughout the entire season.
With confidence and passion they took the mat and killed it, hitting zero. The team sat through the award ceremony waiting for Antioch to be called first. The Sequoit Cheer team did just that and received a score of 93.33.
All season long the team has supported not only each other, but every other team competing alongside them as well. The 2020 IHSA cheerleading state finals top three in the medium division were: Antioch with a first place trophy, second Oak Forest and third Columbia. The team has now conquered everything that they’ve been working so hard for this whole season, a state championship.
