UIL State Cheer Results!!

This past week several school cheer teams from Jasper County and the 409 made the trip to the UIL State Cheer Championships held in Forth Worth. Schools from our area that hit the mat were Kirbyville, Buna, and Jasper. These young ladies spent countless hours preparing, training, and attending various competitions to sharpen their routines for the big stage. You must understand the time spent that these young ladies put into this sport for 5 minutes of performance. The tryout season starts around February setting the teams lineup. These young ladies get a short break until June, which most attending training camps or private lessons to be ready for the start of the season. Usually the first week of June, the teams have cheer camp bringing in Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) trainers. UCA a national organization that develops stunts along with routines also trains, instructs, and hosts various cheerleading events and camps. UCA are brought in to help introduce new aspects of cheering and instruct the young ladies on execution and safety. The teams spend 3 days of intense training that can last up to 12 hours. Once this is complete the young ladies then train on their own perfecting their individual parts in the overall performance. Official practices start in the beginning of August, this is where the teams prepare for football season. This includes early morning and evening practices to work on chorography and the complete routine. After football season, this is when things kick into overdrive with weekend practices added to their schedule. This year due to the timing of the UIL state championships the first week of January, the teams had to sacrifice their holiday break as it was crunch time to be ready. Championship week is an exciting time for the young ladies as they board a bus to Forth Worth to perform in front of several thousand fans and compete for the UIL State Trophy. Most teams use their time the day prior to perfect their routines and have a team dinner with team bonding activities afterward. State performances include the following categories Band Chant, Crowd Leading, and Fight Song. The teams perform a preliminary routine and the top 20 teams from each class and division (1A., 2A, 3A, etc.) compete in the finals later in the evening. UIL then recognizes the top 10 teams from class and division, presenting the top 5 with trophies and individual medals. Here’s how our teams fared:

Kirbyville Cheer has been a force to be reckoned with at State year after year. They are coached by Leah Richardson and Jennifer Hughes. The Wildcats have placed in the top ten 6 out of the last 7 years which is a statement to their dedication to the sport and their team. This team went into this event with a chip on their shoulder with something to prove. This year they showed up and showed out garnering a 2nd place finish out of 49 from across the state! These ladies had a stellar performance and the intensity they brought to the mat with felt throughout the arena. Even the support from other teams and Kirbyville’s Cheer Cat Crew, was unrivaled in their division during the performances. Kirbyville’s Cheer Cat Crew was a mixture of friends and family that showed up to support this team. Those cheer moms and dads in the Kirbyville Cheer Cat Crew did their part in showing love to the Wildcat Cheer team during the performance by yelling the chants and screaming at the top of their lungs. This helped Kirbyville Cheer Team also win the Best Fight Song in their division! We think we could even hear the principals Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Bostick along with Coach Allen chanting along. The Wildcat Cheer Team and Coaches would like to thank everyone for their support on this wild ride! #WinTheDay

Buna Cheer had a great performance earning them 8th out of 49 teams across the state. They are coached by Kristen Sims and Kate Trusty. The Crazy Cougars Crew showed up to support their team being loud and proud! The Cougar Cheer Team executed a great performance, and they brought the noise to the mat! Crazy Cougars Crew and other teams teamed up to cheer on the Cougar Cheer Team and did a great job of pumping up the crowd. There’s rumor that even principal Mr. Clubb hit a backflip after the Cougars performance! Cougar Cheer Team and Coaches would like to thank everyone for their support this year! #GoBigBlue

Jasper Cheer had a great performance but was not able to advance to the final round. The Bulldog Cheer Team did a great job of representing their town and school. The Bulldogs started a chant showdown as they headed into the practice room. Jasper Cheer Team and Coaches would like to thank everyone that has supported them throughout this year! #GoDawgs

Other local teams from the 409 that competed were Nederland, Silsbee, Orangefield, Lumberton, LCM, East Chambers, Kountze, and Hardin Jefferson. Hardin Jefferson placed 4ht in there division.