Hailey Sloan and Tamara McConnell

Writers

After cheering on the Marlow Outlaw football team to a victorious score of 68-34 at Bethel on Friday, Nov. 1, the Marlow Cheer Team traveled to Moore High School the following day on Saturday, Nov. 2 for their State Game Day competition.

The competition consisted of three categories which include a crowd leading cheer, a band dance and a fight song – each performance was to remain under a minute.

Preparing for competition since July, the girls experienced the dedication and teamwork it took to prepare for their state competition.

Second year squad member and senior cheerleader Billie Harrison described her pros and cons of competition practices.

“To prepare for state, there were many morning practices that were stressful,” said Harrison. “Evening practices were my favorite, though, because they allowed me to see my girls being excited and positive.”

Whether the practices were early in the morning or late in the afternoon, the girls did not hold back on giving their best at each practice.

Through practice and preparation, Marlow High School Cheer Coach Amy Herchock explained how the girls had refined their skills for this year.

“Our squad has definitely improved this year,” said Herchock. “Our stunting is at a higher level of skill and our squad as a whole is really energetic and positive. It’s refreshing to bring that energy to our sporting events.”

Experiencing the Game Day event for the first time, sophomore cheerleader Riley New explained how the team competed and how their efforts put into practices made them better.

“The early morning practices helped us a lot, and I think we competed well and we tried really hard,” said New. “I feel good knowing we went out there and did all that we could with what we knew and that we tried our best.”

After being evaluated on their three different components, MHS cheer received 184 points on their cheer, 136 points on their fight song and 124 on the band dance, putting Marlow in 15th place.