Second in the state
Falcons receive second place for coed cheer dance at state competition
November 5, 2018
On Saturday, Nov. 3, West’s cheerleading team headed to the Iowa State Fairgrounds to compete in the Iowa High School State Cheerleading Championships. The team placed second for their coed cheer dance routine, and their stunt groups placed 13th and 14th for the 4A division.
This victory comes after a week of intense stress due to the team having to adjust the majority of their routine. After competing at the Triton Challenge Cheerleading Competition on Oct. 28, the coaches and team were informed that some drastic changes needed to happen in order to compete at the state competition. My favorite thing is when it’s all said and done, I get to sit in the front row and watch them perform and be their biggest fan — Head Coach Heather Kormann
“We found out that the cheer part of our routine had to be one minute rather than thirty seconds so our music was too long. So we had to rearrange our whole routine basically,” senior Haley Dawson said. “Things like this have happened to our team before and we always make it through so I think everyone is okay with it.”
The judges at Triton’s Cheerleading Competition were able to explain what changes needed to be changed, and the team had some extra practices to become more confident in the new routine.
“The point of Triton is to let the kids get their nerves out and to work out the kinks of our routine. After they perform, we get all the feedback from the judges and spend the week before state implementing their suggestions,” head coach Heather Kormann said.
Despite the challenges that the team has faced over the years, they have still managed to surpass expectations at state. This second place victory was forwarded by a first place coed stunt group title in 2017.
“I got the experience to compete at state when I was in high school, so to help them have this experience and see how hard they work is really awesome,” assistant coach Janae Krow said.
