Bulldogs rule TEC cheer competition 

 The annual TEC cheerleading competition was held on Wednesday, March 12, at the Cambridge City Lincoln Middle/High School gymnasium before a large, enthusiastic crowd. Six of the nine TEC member schools sent squads to the event. There was excitement in the air as the squads and their coaches from Centerville, Hagerstown, Lincoln, Northeastern, Union County and Winchester entered the gymnasium. It was a festive atmosphere with the feeling that something special was about to happen. There was also a camaraderie between the competitors. The members of the different squads were very supportive of each other. 

Cheerleading is a sport and the team members put in a lot of time and effort. The cheerleaders work as hard as any athlete in the schools, and they display incredible skill and athleticism. 

The order of performance was determined by blind draw. The participants seemed calm and collected as they took the mat. The coaches seemed more nervous.  

Centerville led off the evening with a high-energy routine, followed by Winchester, Northeastern, Hagerstown, Union County and Lincoln. Hagerstown had the largest squad with 23 members. Lincoln had the smallest with seven. Each group performed well and did a good job of engaging and playing to the crowd. The judges gave a most spirited award to Winchester, but the voting was so close they also extended a most spirited award to Hagerstown. 

While the crowd awaited the announcement of the final results, the coaching staff from each school were introduced and a jump-off was held. The winner of the jump-off was Chloe Abney-Brotz from Northeastern. The judges only announced the top three finishers. Union County was awarded third place, Northeastern was awarded second place and Centerville was crowned the champion. 

Aubrie Irvine, a member of the Northeastern squad, was also a recent participant in the IHSAA gymnastics regional. She compared the pressure of that experience to that of the cheerleading competition.

“The two experiences were entirely different,” Irvine said. “Northeastern does not have a gymnastics team so I was participating in the IHSSA gymnastics tournament as an individual; being here tonight is an entirely different feeling. In gymnastics, participating as an individual is like playing every position in baseball. Every ball is hit to you. In this competition you have the support of your teammates and we are like a family.” 

For Centerville, it was the first time in school history that they have been crowned TEC champions. Brooklyn O’Neill, a senior member of the Centerville squad, said the experience Centerville has had in other competitions gave them an edge.

“We have worked hard to prepare for other competitions. We just got back from nationals about a month ago and we have been working as a team since last June. I think our previous experience was an advantage for us.”