Aucklynn Sacco, Gilpin County. On Thursday, March 4, 2021, the Gilpin County High School cheerleaders competed in their first competition for the 2020-2021 season. 

The team competed against three other schools, The Academy, Bennet High School, and Middle Park High School. Other teams competing were Clear Creek High School with a pom’s routine and Platte Canyon with a 2:30 routine. 

The cheerleaders competing were Halle Yocum, Cassidy Wood, Emily Williams, Archer O’Brien, Will Hunt, Destaney Garcia, Aucklynn Sacco, Allison Antill, and Lynda Icenogle. 

At 3 p.m., the nine cheerleaders competing and their coach, Katie Yocum, boarded the bus and left for Sheridan High School. Due to Covid protocols, when the team arrived, they had to begin getting dressed and ready on the bus. At around 4:30 p.m., the team was able to go inside the school, where they were assigned a classroom, so that was separate from other teams; however, they could still hang out and prepare for the competition. While in the classroom, the team finished getting ready and began running through their routine. 

The Gilpin cheerleaders were the second team-up. While the first team was competing, Gilpin went into a separate room, where they warmed up their stunts and did some last-minute practice. At around 6:30 p.m., the team was called onto the floor. 

The group started their routine with a band dance, followed by a situational sideline cheer, where they then did a cheer of their choice and finished with the school fight song. After competing, the team then went back to the classroom to watch the other teams competing. After all of the other teams competing finished, there was an award ceremony, where the team found out how they did. 

In the end, the team got second place with an overall score of 74.1. The winner of the competition was The Academy. 

(Originally published in the March 11, 2021, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)