ACHS Cheerleaders Win State Championship in Greensboro

Months of jumping, hoisting, dancing and doing cartwheels paid off for the varsity cheerleaders of Ashe County High School on Saturday, Feb. 20, at the North Carolina Cheerleading Coaches Association's 2010 State Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Ashe County took first place in the varsity non-tumble small division, earning the program's first state championship. Head Coach Rachel Shepherd said Ashe County earned second in the state five years ago, but the title in Greensboro is "pretty big.

"This is probably the first time I have ever cried at a competition in my life," she said.

Shepherd said that cheerleading is a year-round sport, beginning with tryouts in late spring and followed by workouts and weight training all summer. The group cheers during the school's football and basketball games and competes in several competitions each year.

"It takes a lot of dedication and effort on their part to get to this point," said Shepherd.

The team placed third at the NCHSAA Invitational Cheerleading Championships in November. Shepherd said the team "competed with basically the same routine" on Feb. 20 but make it more challenging.

"They've worked really hard to add some difficulty," said Shepherd. "They've done much harder stunts and they did a really good job." The team's performance in Greensboro was judged on a variety of factors including stunts, jumps, dance and crowd appeal.

As she watched her squad compete, Shepherd said she "knew they had done well.

"They had a couple of mistakes but it wasn't anything major," said Shepherd, who noted that her team's stunts, jumps and dance were "more difficult than the other teams we competed against.

"I figured we probably, just based on what I saw, had first or second," she continued. But they didn't find out the result immediately - instead, everyone waited two hours.

When the results came in, the Ashe County squad got the news they finished tops. Shepherd said the key was lots of practice.

"They usually only get one day off a week, from August to February," she said. "We've had several Saturday practices and they don't complain, they don't whine because they don't get to do other things. They just come in, work and get it done."

Shepherd is in her sixth year as head coach but said it will be her last since she plans to focus her attention on earning a Masters degree and raising her children.�

"I'm pretty excited to go out with a bang," said Shepherd.

The Ashe County High School cheerleaders will next compete in the national cheerleading championships in Myrtle Beach from March 18-21.
Article compliments of The Mountain Times