The DSHS competition cheer team placed 17th out of 32 teams in the UIL State competition in Dallas Fort Worth on Jan. 5-7. They proceeded to participate in the UCA National Cheer Competition, receiving 10th place on Feb. 8-12.

All the cheerleaders left Jan. 5 on a charter bus for a four hour ride to Dallas, Fort Worth, and arrived at the Omni Hotel. The cheerleaders began competing in two separate parts of the competition in which several judges casted a vote from 0-10 to decide whether or not to proceed the teams into the finals. The team proceeded through both competitions, making it into the finals and repeating with two more sections of the competition and ending with 17th place.

“I think that we worked really hard and have improved so much as a team,” junior Maegan Rickard said.

The UCA competition was hosted at the ESPN center in Orlando, Florida, and lasted for three days. A total of 45 competition cheer teams competed in the 6A D1 division of UCA National competition, making the competition extremely competitive. This division was divided among itself and placed in multiple competitions against each other. 

“We worked seamlessly with each other, and it was a great season for me to end on,” senior Presley Cochran said. 

Prior to these competitions, the cheerleaders require many hours of conditioning and practicing. These practices are very rigorous and the cheerleaders had participated in outside tumbling practices to enhance their skills for the upcoming competitions. Prior to the UIL state competition and UCA National Competition, the cheer team had completed a two hour practice in order to make sure all their cheers had been memorized and well established. 

“There are all these tedious rules and things…it’s pretty complicated…Which is why we go over it a million times in practice so that we can see all those little things,” varsity cheer coach Brenna Watson said. 

Their dances and cheers have been consistently practiced at home, school-practice and outside-of-school practice. For hours, the cheerleaders will run through these routines constantly in order to perfect every movement and tumble. 

“I was so honored to have had the privilege of being captain of this team,” Cochran said. “Out of all four years of competing for DSHS, I can confidently say this team was the hardest working.”