Story and photos by Allie Pigg
Thursday, Nov. 29, the RBHS cheer team took its home floor before a crowd one last time before heading to the state competition at Lindenwood High School this Saturday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 2.
Complete with sparkling eye shadow and high ponytails for the girls and ear-to-ear grins for the boys, the team used this cheer showcase to stimulate the real competition before this weekend.
“Showcase is an opportunity to mess up without having to worry about our placement,” senior captain Aubrey Sanders said. “That is extremely important when heading into a competition as important as state.”

Sanders lead the cheer team alongside her four other senior co-captains. One of these teammates, senior Anel Castro, said she is proud of the work she and the other captains have done for the team during their time at RBHS.
“I’ve felt for the past years Rock Bridge cheer has been looked down on, and this year as a group of captains we wanted to change that,” Castro said. “I had never gotten a compliment about [cheer’s performance at] an assembly and this year I got so many. That made my heart so happy.”
Hickman High School, Tolton Catholic High School and Harrisburg High School attended the showcase Thursday night to practice their routines in preparation for approaching competitions. 
RBHS cheer performed the routine they’ve been working on as a team since April.
“The routine this year is more intense than it has ever been in the history of [RBHS] cheerleading,” Sanders said. “Everyone shared the workload and there isn’t one person that does more than another. All of our hard work put together have given us a beautiful routine that I can’t wait to perform.”
Whatever outcome the team walks away with this weekend, the captains said they are grateful for the bonds the team formed and look forward to competing alongside some of their closest friends. The showcase served as a way to prove to the audience and to themselves what RBHS cheer is made of.
“I admire my team. It is the hardest working and strongest team I’ve been in,” Castro said. “We’ve had teammates quit, we’ve had others get injured, we’ve had many execute at practice those things that were once an obstacle. I have no doubt in this team, and I know that we can overcome whatever is thrown at us.”
[vc_text_separator title=”But how did they get here”]Story by Ji-Sung Lee. Video by Sarah 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