Troy Athens High School Hosts Cheer Invitational

Athens High School Hosts Cheer Invitational

It may have been gray outside, but inside the gymnasium at Athens High School, the atmosphere was positively “Cheer”ful as they hosted their 3rd annual Cheer Invitational on Saturday January 6.40 competitive cheer teams from neighboring districts were invited to showcase their best routines, and ranged from middle school all the way up to Varsity.

The day started with two rounds of middle school and three rounds of junior varsity teams performing two and three routines respectively.

“I'm extremely proud of all of our middle schools for truly embracing competitive cheer and finding their own as athletes. They work just as hard as the high school athletes and are determined to be among the best middle school teams in the state. Larson had a record breaking 1st round and is competing with one of the hardest 2nd rounds in school history so their second place was well deserved,” said Kaja Clark, AHS Varsity Cheer Coach.

Varsity teams ruled the afternoon, and competed in three rounds. Teams received scores after each round based on various criteria, and were placed based on total cumulative scores. Troy teams were ranked as follows:

Boulan MS - 8th place

Smith MS - 6th place

Baker MS - 4th place

Larson MS - 2nd place

Troy Athens JV - 3rd place

Troy High Varsity - 6th place

Troy Athens Varsity - 1st place

The Troy Athens Varsity squad was excited for their 1st place finish: “Hitting our rounds with that much emotion and passion so early in the season really showed that we truly want to be one of the top teams in the state. We're working really hard and are so happy we were able to accomplish this first-place win at home, together as a team and as a family." Troy Athens senior Amber DeBlauwe, said. Coach Clark agreed, “It was great to see the Athens varsity team come together and push themselves toward a fantastic start to 2018 and start 2018 with their season high scores.”

What was most important, however, was the feeling of camaraderie and respect between teams and individual cheerleaders. "It's nice to see what your team can overcome after hard practices and after performing,” said Baker student Ava Grabke. “It's a good feeling to take the mat with the people that you've come closer to and people who support you no matter what. It's also fun to see the High School teams compete because it inspires you to make your own team do better and train harder.”

Clark concluded, “We're really looking forward to our upcoming competitions and are excited to see what we can accomplish together. I think I speak for all of the competitive cheer coaches when I say that we truly appreciate the support that we've received from the district and our community.”

The next opportunities to see the cheer teams compete in Troy come on Saturday, Feb. 3 at the Oakland Activities Association (OAA) League Finals and on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSSA) regionals (varsity only). Both events will be held at Athens High School, and begin at 10 a.m.

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Pic1: Baker Bobcats (Middle School) photo credit: Anna Grabke

Pic2: 1st Place Troy Athens Varsity Team: Elisabeth Butash, Olivia Chow, Katelyn Claxton, Elizabeth Clifford, Kira Crumpley, Amber DeBlauwe, Emily Dekoski, Jenna Doyle, Emma Goshgarian, Kira Hegdal, Lily Jin, Shaelie McClain, Nathania Nartey, Mia Phipps, Clarissa Plattenberg, Maddie Purvis, Emily Schwab, Grace Stibich, Cami Wade. Head Coach Kaja Clark, Assistant Coaches Jennifer Gibson, Allison Berens Photo credit: Dennis Dekoski

Pic3: Troy Athens Varsity, photo credit: Dennis Dekoski

Pic 4: On the floor, waiting for scores photo credit: Dennis Dekoski