Schools
Chapel Hill Cheerleaders Win State Title
In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the competition squad took top honors in state over the weekend.
DOUGLASVILLE, GA — The competition cheer team at Chapel Hill High School took top honors in statewide competition in Columbus this past weekend.
The team competed Friday at the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) competition in sectionals and advanced to the finals on Saturday. The squad came home as the 2017 GHSA 4A State Cheerleading Champs. Chapel Hill is the first school in Douglas County to win state in cheerleading.
It was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Chapel Hill competition cheerleading, since only eight out of 19 girls were returning to the squad.
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"During tryouts, we immediately recognized the potential of this team but knew we had a lot of work ahead of us," said Coach Cheryl Handley. "We decided to promote a new team culture based on the foundation of 'grit,' which is the combination of passion and perseverance."
Throughout the season, the team gave out GRIT awards to team members displaying the trait. Handley said the girls found ways around challenges and truly bonded as a team.
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"The girls truly consider this team as family," she said. "In all my years of coaching, I have never seen a tighter bond than what I see with these girls. Our cheer parents supported the team vision throughout the season."
Community coach and former Chapel Hill cheerleader Alyssa Handley-Lascek said this year's squad took the state by suprise.
"The competition didn't really see Chapel Hill coming out strong this season," she said. "However, as a team we set weekly goals and gained momentum as those goals were accomplished. We stayed focused on the job taking it one performance at a time."
Team members taking part in the weekend's competition included Kaydee Cohran, Nyah Priester, Katelynn Tingen, Ivana Fiallos, Kailey Belcher, Ashley Hutton, Mikayla Cleary, Aliyah Hutton, Dajah Evans, Bralyn Curry, Capri Stroud, Kennedy King, Kennedy Cherry, Hannah Jackson, Ashlyn Boles, Olivia Sorensen, Sydney Stoutmire, Anaiya Rubin and Aliyah Robinson.
Photo courtesy Chapel Hill High School
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