At CHS there are multiple sports taking place throughout the school year. However, the players that are participating in the game aren’t the only ones making an effort.  They have the CHS cheerleaders cheering and encouraging the team to win the game! Win or lose, they are always cheering on the team.  Not only are the cheerleaders making the game great, but the CHS Diamond Dancers always aim to have magnificent performances at halftime. Now the cheer team and the dance team are finishing off the season with their state competition, and we should cheer them on to victory!

So far, both cheerleaders and dancers have come up as runners-up in past competitions, but this time, they’re aiming to rise to the top of the rest. One of the two cheer coaches, Mrs. Braithwait, says that last year, they got runners-up in the traditional non-tumbling event. For the cheer team, this was a very big accomplishment. They also take part in other events, such as tumbling, Unified Cheer, and their usual performance for game day.  In total, the cheer team will perform 3 cheers, two dances, and their fight song. The Sparkle Cheerleaders will perform in the Unified Cheer division. The cheerleaders have been practicing their routine since November, practicing 2 times a week for 2 hours or more if necessary. Altogether, there are 25 cheerleaders, injuries permit only 22 cheerleaders to perform at state this year. Coach Braithwait says that for this year’s contest, their goals are to compete even better than they did last year and work twice as hard so that together, they can pull off a spectacular, mind-blowing performance!

Similar to the cheerleaders, the CHS Diamond Dancers have also been practicing non-stop, aiming to perfect their routines. For the state dance event, there are 4 categories: pom, jazz, hip hop, and high kick. The dance team will be performing in pom and high kick. 12 dancers have been practicing vigorously since August for this very event. Coach Wemhoff says their main goal is to give it their all and to have fun! She says that if you ask any of the dancers, they will say that they want to take first place in the event. However, as their coach, Wemhoff’s goal for them is for them to dance their hearts out. She knows that they will all try their hardest and that makes her very happy and proud no matter what the outcome. 

The state dance cheer tournament will take place at the Heartland Event Center in Grand Island, on February 17. It starts at 10 am and goes on until around 6 pm. Braithwait says that they will be performing their game day cheer and dance around 11:40 am, and their non-tumbling performance will be at 1:10. For the dance team, their contest will be on February 19 and will perform around 2:30 and 4:30 pm. The awards are given out at 8:00 pm.

Let’s hope that all that hard work pays off and that cheer and dance have a magnificent performance and great time. Just as they perform and cheer at our usual sports events, we should also cheer them on and wish them good luck in their state competition!

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