Waukon High School cheerleading squad fares well in competition

Champs at Spartan Cheer Challenge, State Runner-Up at Iowa Championships

Waukon High School’s cheerleading squad ventured into new territory this fall when the Indians took part in a pair of state-level competitions against a variety of other high school teams. Even though this was new territory for members of this year’s Indian spirit brigade, they made themselves feel right at home by winning one competition and finishing second in the State Championships.
The Indians’ first judged competition was the Spartan Cheer Challenge held at the University of Dubuque Sunday, October 25 in Dubuque. Competing in the Time-Out Division among other teams from Class 1A and 2A Districts, the Waukon squad won championship honors.
Waukon High School cheerleading coach Amy Bieber says that a special invitation to perform at the Tiger Invitational at Cedar Falls High School the day before that first cheer competition was a big help to the team, allowing them to take advantage of that initial experience and advice received. “This was a great opportunity to have our routine critiqued before we competed in Dubuque the following day,” Bieber said. “We were given pointers on how to improve our routine, and we took these critiques back to the school and altered our performance before competing Sunday. We learned that with each performance, other coaches and teams are very supportive and willing to give advice on how we can improve.”
Two weeks later, the Indians competed in the Iowa High School Cheerleading Championships held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines Saturday, November 7. Competing once again in the Time-Out Division among Class 1A and 2A Districts, the Indians were the 50th team to compete at the event and ended up placing as the State Runner-Up in that competition.
Waukon High School students competing at the Spartan Cheer Challenge included Kate-Leigh Wilson, Jazmine Rathbun, Jade Blake, Whitney Cota, Hannah Rogers, Sydney Garrett, Mariah Hancock, Katelynn Griffith, Daphne Fish, Kasinda McKee, Leah Enyart and Jasmyn Enyart, with all but Rathbun competing again in the Iowa Championships.
In each of those competitions, teams were given one minute (the equivalent of a game time-out) to perform a crowd-involved cheer that incorporates tumble, stunt and cheer. Categories teams are judged on include Entrance on the mat, Potential for crowd response, Motion/Technique, Effective use of props, Showmanship/Spirit, Voice, Formations, Spacing, Transitions, Exit from the mat, and Overall Execution. A panel of judges scores and critiques each school performance and tabulates a final score for placement purposes.
“The girls, along with assistant coach Lexie Bieber and myself, have put in numerous months of hard work and dedication to building the cheer program up,” Amy Bieber said. “This year being our first year of competing has been overwhelming but rewarding in so many ways. We are so proud of the girls’ success in their first year.  We look forward to the coming years of competing.”