On Saturday, Oct. 1, a group of 27 girls clad in their green, black and gold spirit gear attended the State Cheerleading Championships held annually at the Hearnes Center. The RBHS cheerleaders competed with squads from around Missouri, all vying for the state championship title. At the end of the day, only one of the six teams in the super large division took home the grand prize: RBHS.
“I was really excited this year because I thought we had a lot of potential,” cheer captain senior Sami Johnson said. “Once we got [to the competition], I didn’t know how we would do because there were some really good squads, and some squads I knew that we were going to beat. We just had to go out there and give it our all.”
A flawless performance, as any performer knows, never happens. But a near-flawless one is always possible, and that’s what the girls needed to win. A little after five, the squad performed with no visible mistakes. They cleanly executed their jumps and stunts, their voices crisp with perfection.
It took more than two hours for the girls to learn the results.
“We were all sitting down, really nervous.” Johnson said. “They announced the top four spots first. … And when they said, ‘Rock Bridge: First Place,’ we all just jumped up and started screaming. It was just so great, and it felt awesome.”
Saturday’s win also marks the first time the RBHS cheerleaders placed first in the state championships. On Monday gold medals pinned to the girls’ green cheerleading jackets sparkled along with the joy and pride shining in their eyes.
“Everything paid off,” Johnson said. “All the hard work that we did finally has shown what we can do.”
By Daphne Yu