Parsa Hamran

Varsity cheerleaders yell out their cheers at their practice on Oct. 22. The competitive varsity cheer team had practice all week before district finals on Oct. 23 to perfect the upgraded routine. “[Cheer] is a lot of hard work,” varsity cheer coach Mary Brunson said. “Practice is key and [we keep] trying to push the limit [to] see what we can do [and] what we can’t. Once we find [a routine] that’s comfortable for us, we [stick] with it and perfect it.”

On Oct. 23, the Jeffferson varsity cheer team placed seventh at district finals and missed the mark to compete at regionals by only two points. The week prior, on Oct 14, they competed at district semifinals and succeeded in placing first.

The whole team gave their all in making sure the routine for district semifinals was competition ready. Leading up to it, the Jefferson Varsity cheer team had practices every day from 4-7:30 p.m. During the practices, the captains helped the rest of the team perfect their moves and stunts.

“I try to give feedback a lot,” varsity cheer captain Cricket Hicks said. “If I see that someone could do better, I might give them some critiques, because I know my team. I’ve been cheering with most of them for a couple of years; I know how to help them improve and do better.”

Along with the captains, varsity cheer coach Mary Brunson also played a big role in helping the team. She helped them learn their cheers, jumps and stunts. She watched over the team and stepped in when necessary so they could fully perfect their stunts.

“Stunting is a big [part of cheer],” Brunson said. “The judges look at our difficulty level of stunting, and then they look at the technique. The technique [of our stunts] has improved a lot.”

There were some challenges they had to overcome as a team to make sure they were fully prepared for the competition and could give it their all.

“Our biggest [challenge] was having a really small competition team,” senior varsity cheer captain Amy Nam said. “We had a bunch of seniors graduate last year who [had] essential roles in stunts, so a lot of people had to learn new stunt positions. And when there are [fewer people] on the mat, it’s just harder because there’s not as many people to be loud.”

Whether they are nervous, excited or feeling any other way, the cheer team has a tradition that they do before any big competition to get all their emotions out.

“We have a team tradition of playing ‘You Belong With Me’ in the locker room right before we go [compete],” backspot Iryne Jackson said. “[During district semifinals], we [also] did a conga line and we were jumping around and yelling.”

Despite the obstacles they faced early on during their practices, the cheer team was still able to put their best foot forward on Oct. 14. The routine at district semifinals included basic cheers and stunts, along with a routine with music. All the hard work paid off when they got first place and zero points were deducted. This means that their routine was perfect, and they executed and landed all the stunts correctly.

“We were all shocked that [we got first],” Brunson said. “We were overly excited once we learned the places.”

 The semifinals took place in the Jefferson gym, so it was a home competition.

“It was really nice because this is the first time [Jefferson had] zero [points deducted], which means everything went correctly,” said Jackson. “It was really nice winning first on home turf.”

After they took the win, the Jefferson cheer team started practicing again for district finals. They decided to change the stunts a little bit to make it a higher difficulty. Everyone worked hard and hoped they would get a good score, and possibly hit zero again.

“Mostly [we are] focusing on doing what we were doing before, [but] stronger,” Nam said.

The week after the semifinals, the district finals took place at Hayfield Secondary School. The competition started at 6:30 p.m. The team was excited to show off the stunts in higher difficulty and to represent Jefferson.

“We get to show how [Jefferson] has improved over the years,” cheer captain Faith Barbour said. “Not even the four years we’ve been here, but before we came [to Jefferson]. [Jefferson] has come such a long way and I [am] really excited to show that at the competition.”

Before the competition started, the teams took time to stretch and loosen up. After stretching, the Jefferson varsity cheer team took the time to get any pre-competition nerves out.

“Right before we go [out to perform], we all hold hands in a circle and [scream to] let it all out,” Nam said. “Another thing we do is we all lie down listening to our [competition] music, visualizing [our routine].”

After finishing the routine, the Jefferson cheer team got seventh place. They had five points deducted due to an issue in equality. The five points made them drop down three places, which ultimately made them finish in seventh. This also caused them to miss the mark to compete at regionals by two points.

“In a way, I’m actually relieved,” Barbour said. “Even though we don’t get to go to regionals, sometimes things like this can be a blessing in disguise because now we have more time to focus on team bonding. We get to spend more time with each other as [a team] and as best friends.”

Even though they won’t be able to compete at regionals this year, the varsity cheer team still exceeded their own expectations at district semifinals and finished strong at the district finals. Finishing off the season with a bang, the Jefferson cheer team was able to overall improve, all while getting closer as a family.

“We’re cheerleaders for the school but we also like to cheer for each other,” Jackson said. “Our non-competition varsity team, they’re very supportive [of] us. They’re always at our practices cheering us on.”