The Pilot Point Lady Cats Cheerleading Squad wrapped their season with a Top 20 finish at the UIL Spirit State Championships held at the Fort Worth Convention Center on Jan. 15-17.
The Lady Cats competed against 56 teams from across the state, finishing as the 12th best cheer squad in 3A Division I.
“They did amazing,” Pilot Point head cheer coach Maycee Stuckly said. “When you think about it, 12th out of 57 teams in the state, is amazing and getting into finals is a win in of itself, so I’m very proud of them.”
The teams were graded on crowd leading, band chant and fight song categories, with the Top 20 teams qualifying to compete in the finals.
The Lady Bulldogs finished as one of the Top 20 teams in the qualifying round with a combined total of 180.65, earning their spot in the finals.
In the final round of competition, the squads were given two game situations to cheer for before they took the mat and after their performance the Lady Cats finished with a combined score of 84.5, placing 12th.
“We were up here at the gyms every single Sunday, putting in all the work that we could, doing full outs and building the stamina so we could yell and be loud,” Lady Cat Lillie Kirby said. “And that definitely showed up in a positive way because you could see how much work that we put into it over the long months that we were practicing.”
Four members of the Bearcats football program Kade Stuckly, Lane Eft, Ashton Williamson and Jason Rangel also joined the squad as flag bearers for the competition.
“They asked us if we wanted to help, and we did,” Kade said. “… We did our part with the flags well and knew if the girls hit their stunts that we would do well.”
Eft said taking part in the event allowed him and his friends to see just how challenging the sport of cheer can be.
“It’s probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life,” he said. “… The perfection that is demanded from the judges, and I know how tough the people in the crowd can be, so I definitely have a newfound respect.”
Lady Cats co-captain Peytyn Goodin expressed just how special the moment was for the squad’s seniors.
“It meant a lot because it was our last [competition],” she said. “A lot of us are seniors, we’ve all cheered competitively outside of high school, and we’ve all had a great experience with it overall, so for us to leave on a good note and encourage our younger teammates to do the same next year meant a lot to us.”
Maycee made sure to thank Pilot Point ISD administrators, Pilot Point cheer parents and assistant coach Megan Noland.
“Thank you to everyone that came along on this ride with us this season,” she said.
