On Thursday, December 7, the Gilpin Cheer Team competed in the CHSAA State Spirit Championships at the Denver Coliseum. Competing against 25 other 2A/3A teams from across Colorado in the Game Day Competition, Kari Hanson, Lynda Icenogle, Leo Molotchnick, Liz Madrigal-Garcia, and Bree Rice-Dietz performed for Gilpin County School this year. Three of the five members were part of last year’s second-place finishers.

Practicing four days a week for three and a half months with three competitions and one exhibition along the way, the girls had worked diligently to perfect their routine. The coaches deemed them to be in good form and ready to compete against the other participants.

Each performance of up to 20 cheerleaders was allotted three minutes to complete the program, which starts and ends with the music. The routines were divided into four required categories in this order: Band Chant, Situational Sideline, Crowd Leading Cheer, and Fight Song. The judges were looking for enthusiasm, energy, precision, and spacing.

The Band Chant was the opening dance number with a two-word cheer. On the judge’s cue, the girls needed to execute either an offensive or defensive football cheer for the Situational Cheer. The Eagles’ chant was to be either “Move That Ball!” or “Hold That Line!” In the Crowd Leading Cheer, the goal is to be visually appealing while getting fans engaged. A “ripple” was a maneuver where the team transitions from one end of the mat to the other in unison. One particularly difficult stunt that the Eagles excel at is called a “prep.” When three of Kari Hansen’s teammates hoisted her into the air balanced on their hands, it was a highlight.

Fitting all of the elements into the time limit is always challenging and any momentary pause can cause a team to run over. The Eagles landed in the top twenty-five percent with a sixth-place finish until a 5-point deduction was applied to their score for running two seconds past the limit. Still a good showing full of skillful execution and vim, they were thirteenth best in the entire state.

“We thank Dr. MacKenzie, Mrs. Donaldson, and Mr. Schuessler for their support as we continue to develop the competition team,” expressed Head Coach Katie Yocum. “Thank you to the team parents who have been terrific getting their cheerleaders to practices, helping with team dinners, coming to the competitions and providing financial support. We will miss our graduating seniors, Lynda Icenogle and Bree Rice-Dietz; they have been excellent leaders and teammates. Assistant Coach Cindy Upchurch and I are grateful for the opportunity to coach these athletes and we are excited to see how we grow from here! The next and final competition of our year is the Sweetheart Blast on February 3rd at Greeley West High School.”