 On Saturday, Lincoln Community High School's inaugural competitive
cheer squad traveled to the IHSA sectionals at Normal West Community
High School. Fourteen squads from as far north as Richton Park, as
far east as Champaign and as close to home as Bloomington competed
in this third annual IHSA state competition. It was Lincoln's
first-ever attempt to capture an IHSA state title in this
long-under-recognized sport.The performance is judged in 10
specific categories, each allotted 10 maximum points by the IHSA
judges. Those categories consist of tumbling, jumps, pyramids and
stunts, formation and transitions, synchronization, degree of
difficulty, choreography, voice and projection, motions, and overall
effectiveness.
Sixteen of Lincoln's finest athletes, after putting in months of
preparation under the direction of their excellent first-year coach,
Ms. Heather Baker, took to the floor as the 12th performance of the
afternoon. Normal West High school was packed to capacity with more
fans than had attended the previous night's conference basketball
showdown at the same venue. For the Railer squad, consisting of a
mathematically perfect four seniors, four juniors, four sophomores
and four freshmen, it was the event they had been waiting and
working for.
By name the squad consists of LCHS student-athletes Arielle
Alley, Chelsay Browning, Amy Ramlow, Jacky Scheurer, Emily Berglin,
Kelsey Bunner, Hilary Hobler, Allissa Martin, Ericka Bradley, Abby
Olson, Casey Ritchhart, Ellen Splain, Tiffany Boch, Dani Julifs,
Taylor Perry and Nikki Taylor. The first alternate is Aubrey Joseph.
The competition looked stiff as such noteworthy schools as Joliet
Catholic, Bloomington, Morris (state finalists in 2007), Romeoville,
Rich South and other excellent teams competed before the Railer
squad. Not to be outdone though, the Railer squad took to the mat in
front of a slew of judges, as well as a packed house, and put on a
commanding performance. So commanding was the LCHS performance that
the technical judges (those who look for such flaws as missed
tumbling or stunting attempts, rules violations, or athletes
stepping off the performance mat, etc.) found NO technical flaws!
The Railer performance was technically difficult, creative and
demanding. The Lincoln girls pulled it off with near perfection in
every one of the 10 judged categories.
When the squad ran off the mat after their exhausting
performance, it was quite evident that they had done a great job.
The only remaining question was: Would the IHSA judges agree?
As is the tradition in such competitions, all of the cheer squads
from every school take the floor together and wait for the final
results to be tabulated. It is a time filled with picture-taking,
chatter and great positive energy, along with (or maybe disguising)
the to- be-expected nervous anticipation that comes with waiting for
others to judge your performance. While in most IHSA sports the
final result is signaled by the sound of a final horn or buzzer,
competitive cheerleading makes the athletes, the coaches and the
fans sit and wait while the numbers are crunched. It is a tense 15
minutes.
As IHSA officials returned to the microphone to announce who
would be moving on to the 2008 IHSA state finals, the gym went
completely silent. Athletes from each team huddled together
hopefully, waiting to hear their team's name announced among the top
five whose season would continue. Five would head home happy, nine
would not. But which five and which nine?
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In an eerily silent gym the final results were announced as
follows: The fifth-place qualifier was Bloomington High School, and
fourth place went to Morris High School. This reporter was of the
opinion that Lincoln's name would hopefully be heard next. It was
not. The third-place qualifier would be Romeoville High School.
As I looked over to the LCHS squad, I saw some worried but still
optimistic faces, tightly intertwined arms and athletes looking to
each other for encouragement as the last two qualifiers were about
to be announced.
Then it came: "In second place and qualifying for next weekend's
state finals -- Lincoln Community High School!" the announcer said.
After that, all that could be heard for the next 30 seconds were the
shouts of joy that came from Railer athletes, their coach and their
fans. It was a memorable first moment for Lincoln's first
competitive cheer squad.
And oh, by the way, the also fine athletes from Rich South High
School in Richton Park took the sectional title. Only 3.16 points
separated Lincoln and Rich South in the final tally of points.
Lincoln ended with a final score of 84.97 and Rich South ended with
88.13.
The final tabulation didn't appear to dampen Lincoln's enthusiasm
-- they were headed to state!
With Lincoln's first-ever IHSA state qualifying competition over,
Coach Baker celebrated with her team and then quickly moved on to
the details of a week of tough practices ahead to prepare for next
Friday's semifinal performance at the Cellular One Coliseum in
Bloomington. It didn't appear that anyone was satisfied with just
making it to state; the talk was of a shot at a state title.
Could that even be possible in Lincoln's very first year ever?
Apparently this team believes it is possible. So do I.
Ladies, wouldn't it be great to walk back into Roy S. Anderson
Gymnasium a week or so from now and, maybe for the very FIRST time,
be recognized as some of the best athletes in the gym? Now that
WOULD be a first!
So ladies, here is your math homework problem to solve this week.
What do you get when you add an excellent first-year coach with a
positive attitude to a first-year team with a great attitude, a
willingness to work hard and a commitment to each other and their
school to give it their best shot headed to its first state
tournament? Could the answer be a first-place trophy and a state
title? It's up to you ladies. WILL YOU?
Go, Railers!!
[By RICK
L. HOBLER]
Respond to the writer at
rhobler@lccs.edu.
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