Traveling across the state, the varsity cheer team took the mat at their first competition of the season on Saturday, Sep. 17 at Waynesboro High School.

Not only was this their first time competing in this event, but also their first time competing against these teams. Coach Zach Cabot, the head cheer coach, made this decision so the team could get all of their beginning-of-season nerves out of their system away from the pressure of local teams.

“It is nice competing against teams we don’t get to typically because we can try things out without the worry of our local competitors watching.” Senior Gabby Goodfriend said.

The cheer team certainly felt the pressure as the only team from Loudoun County competing in this competition, but they were determined to bring home the win.

“I am excited for this year because I think we have a lot of potential,” sophomore Blaine Wooley said.“Now we can perform harder level skills, which will help us score higher.” 

The team put a tremendous effort into their practice with motivation of taking home the first place title.

“You need to work hard, if you want to win,” senior captain Bailey Crittenden said.

By them taking home their first victory of the season, their hard work, especially in the week before the competition, paid off.

“We were all kind of arguing and just frustrated at first, but we remembered that we had to full out,” sophomore Jacob Gaulding said. “We ended up hitting on Thursday and we were all very happy, especially Coach Zach.” 

The team walked into the competition with high hopes and exhilaration. This mindset was definitely a contributing factor to their success.

“I am nervous, but mostly excited — I believe that we have a pretty good chance of winning.” sophomore Krisha Gliponeo said.

The team will continue to work hard and get more practice in before their next competition on Sep. 29. 

“I am glad we got our first competition out of the way so we could get all of our nerves out,” Goodfriend said.