Last Saturday, Starr’s Mill competition cheer hosted its annual invitational where both the junior varsity and varsity teams performed.
“We were hoping that they have really good leadership and that our seniors would rise to the occasion and they would become close as a team,” head coach Mandy Ratliff said. “It’s rewarding to make a difference and see the growth from the beginning of the season to the end.”
Starrs’s Mill hosted this event not only for fundraising but also for the team to get a chance to perform in their own space.
Winners of the invitational included:
- Junior varsity – Houston County
- Division 1A – Schley County
- Division 3A – Mary Persons
- Division 4A – Whitewater
- Division 5A – McIntosh
- Division 6A – Lee County
- Division 7A – Westlake
- Co-ed division – Woodland-Stockbridge
“[Cheering is] like this adrenaline rush, it helps with everything else going on and it’s like a way to get away from that and just focus on something else,” freshman Kiley Groft said.
The team has been working hard since spring and over the summer to get ready for this upcoming season. As the host school, Starr’s Mill performed their routine but did not earn a ranking among the other schools competing.
“We really make sure we are cheering on the football team and we love Friday night, but we also make sure we have fun with each other,” senior Makenna Wright said. “So then waking up early and coming in the next day we’re in such a great and positive mindset.”
Varsity will have its first competition on September 24 hosted at Houston County High School.