Here at Lewis Cass High School, sports are held in a rather high regard. Different sports are always occurring, and the Kings are always in action. Not only are the Kings constantly competing, but they also tend to do a lot of winning in the process. Just a few of the top performing squads are the Girls’ Basketball team, who are the reigning back-to-back sectional champions, making a semi-state run two years ago, and the Girls’ Cross Country team, who also brought home the sectional trophy this year. With all of these victories, the Kings have gained numerous supporters and fans throughout the years. However, there is a group of supporters that has been around since the beginning. This group is the Lewis Cass Cheerleaders.
The cheerleaders here at Cass are in attendance at all of the school’s football and basketball games. They have a sideline view of these competitions and help cheer on the Kings with various cheers and chants. The girls also add a little flair to their cheers by adding in different skills such as stunts, tumbling, and jumps. This past Saturday, the cheerleaders performed their annual halftime show at the boys’ basketball game against Logansport. Not only did the Kings secure a major victory over their rival, but the cheerleaders’ halftime performance went off without a hitch!
Now, this performance does not come together easily. It takes a lot of preparation and imaginative thinking to pull the routine together. Second-year Varsity Coach, Brittany Bertrand, said that she thinks the preparation truly began way back in June at the UCA Cheer Camp the team attended. Bertrand stated, “I was taking in the skills that we were able to learn and the skills that the UCA camp [staff] was teaching us in order to use those stunts for our routine. Also, the portion we do with the junior high is from the UCA Camp.”
The final routine that is put on at halftime has many different parts. First, both the junior high and high school cheerleaders perform the school song, a cheer, and a dance (previously mentioned by Coach Bertrand) that includes both tumbling and stunts at the end. Following this, the high school cheerleaders perform an original routine that includes an opening dance, jump sequence, partner stunts, a dance featuring the three seniors, and the pyramid. This, of course, takes a lot of practicing and perfecting to get it just right. During this process, many obstacles occurred. Coach Brittany also stated, “I think the biggest obstacle we have to face every year is scheduling conflicts. With preparing the halftime show around the holiday season, so many things are on everyone’s schedules!” Another reason that scheduling was so difficult was the fact that many cheerleaders are also on the swim team and had many responsibilities for that team as well.
Not only did the team have to work around their own schedules, but they also had to fit in practices with the junior high squad as well. The high school girls taught the younger cheerleaders a dance routine that highlighted the five junior high tumblers (plus one high school), and seven stunts at the end. In seventh grade, standout tumbler, Brynlee Reed, was asked how she felt performing with the high school cheerleaders for the first time. Brynlee said, “I really enjoy working with the older cheerleaders because it gives us the chance to experience what high school cheer is like. I also love that we get to do some more fun and challenging activities that we don’t usually do at regular practices.” The junior high cheerleaders did phenomenal in their portion of the show, and showcased that the future of the cheerleading program here at Cass looks bright!
The high school cheerleaders also held their own in their part of the halftime performance. Senior cheerleader, Alexis Alford, stated, “I really liked this year’s performance. We had exciting moments, but it was polished and simple. We didn’t try to overdo things, and that is what showed us off the most.” Alexis is completely correct in stating that the performance was “polished”. The girls worked hard to make all of the dancing in sync and uniform, which is very pleasing to the eye. Lexi’s fellow senior, Capreese Jones, said that “her favorite part of the halftime show was the senior dance.” This year’s squad had three experienced senior leaders, and they had the opportunity to perform their very own dance to top off their final halftime performance. Our final senior, Liberty Preston, was asked her thoughts on completing her final halftime show, and she said, “I can’t believe it was my last halftime show, and I am a little sad; however, I felt like I went out with a bang and gave my 110% effort.”
Liberty and her fellow cheerleaders did not disappoint with this year’s halftime show performance. The hard work and practice that these girls put in were well worth it. Not only did the girls perform a phenomenal halftime show, but the boys put on a great performance as well and took down the Logan Berries. Overall, the Kings finished the evening in winning style as usual; from the hardwoods to the halftime show, it was a fantastic night to be a King.
From the sidelines to the headlines, this is Lauren, signing out.
