On Saturday, January 25, Charter’s competition cheerleading team competed at the regional competition at Coral Glades High School. At this competition, the team also celebrated their two seniors, Alexis Newland and Sabrina Marill.

The team competed in the Extra Large All Girl Non-Tumbling division and placed fourth overall with 66 points, allowing them to advance to state semi-finals, meaning the girls will have to compete multiple times in attempts to move on to finals. To achieve this, the routine had to score above 60 points. To advance directly to state finals, they would have had to earn a score of 70 points or above.

The cheerleaders have had to face some challenges to get to this point. Recently, one girl suffered a concussion and has been replaced by one of the eighth-graders on the middle school team. However, the girls tried to stay positive going into the competition, trying their best to qualify for states.

Junior Kaitlyn Stewart said the regional competition was “the best the team had done so far.” She was skeptical about the team’s chances at states before their performance, but afterward felt much better and proud of their placement.

Because this competition was also deemed senior night, many people came to support the team and cheer with them while they were on the mat. The success of the Panther Cheerleaders made it so the seniors’ last competition was not at regionals, but at states.

This week, the team has been working hard to secure their confidence as they travel up to Lakeland, Florida and compete at semi-finals on Friday. We wish the cheerleaders the best of luck for their competition.