Another National Championship. 

The Bullitt East Cheer Team became National Champions Feb. 13. They left for Disney on Feb. 10 and came home with the hardware. The team was under a lot of pressure being titled three-time National Champions and were able to live up to their expectations.   

It took a lot of preparation for them to be ready for competition. Long repetitive practices, conditioning and positive attitudes all played a role in their success. ¨We have a two and a half minute routine and we just run it over and over and over and over again. One of the biggest things is that the routine cannot have any mishaps, and the only way to be perfect is to do it repetitively,” Coach Brooke Stivers said.

They needed to make the routine as perfect as they possibly could in order to bring home the big win. The girls put in work almost every day to better themselves. “We had practice every day of the week for two weeks straight.  We probably did like 20 full outs in those two weeks,” junior Lark Hammack said. 

At Nationals, the team had to compete a total of three times. They competed in Prelims, Semi-Finals and Finals. This was the teams first time competing in the Medium Varsity division. ¨The first day, in Prelims, we didn’t have the best performance. We had some wobbles; things were shaky and then we got some feedback from the judges,” Stivers said. 

 The team was standing in third place after their day one performance, meaning they needed to perform again in the Semifinals, instead of going straight to Finals. As day two came around, they advanced to the Semi-Finals, ready to get their redemption and receive feedback from the judges. 

“We performed again and it was beautiful. It was a beautiful routine. There were still some things that we could do better, but overall it was good…they gave us some advice on our cheers so we just kind of upscaled them,” Stivers said.

After the semifinals, the team took in the judges advice and perfected their routine. They learned they were going to the Finals and knew this was their chance. “In the end, we knew this was our shot, that we had to do it perfectly and that’s what we did,” Hammack said. 

The cheerleaders left it all on the mat during Finals and killed their routine by hitting 0 and becoming National Champions.

“These girls on this team are just amazing. They are naturally just there…they’re just good athletes and just have it. They have the grit and they want to do good. We didn’t just win State. But Nationals, it’s just freaking amazing. They’re amazing,” Stivers said. 

The hardwork and dedication they have put in is incredible. Charger Nation is beyond proud.