By Allen Hamrick
The CWVAC Cheerleading championship was held this past Saturday at Buffalo Putnam High School. The Lady Mustang squad returned to the floor with their high flying routines and tumbling acts to try once again to capture the championship. With nerves tighter than banjo strings, the Lady Mustangs strode onto the court with their heads held high, and, in Lady Mustang cheerleading fashion, cheered, flipped, twirled, stunted, lifted and danced as their hamstrings were stretched to their limits with high flying kicks and tumble runs. All I can say is don’t try and steal their pom poms; they could spin your chin around your head till you could see into next week.
The Lady Mustangs have held the trophy a few times over the years and were due for another run for the gold. Cheerleading is a tough sport – if you don’t think so, go out into the yard do a hand stand while kicking an apple out of the tree, flip upside down, and bounce up off the grass all with a smile on your face. Back that up by muscling your dog high in the air on a stunt, catching it after sending it airborne without dropping it on its head and never lose your composure. There were some of the top squads in the region at the event which included Summersville, Braxton, South Harrison, George Washington, Webster, Clay and Ravenswood. A win here would mean you would almost have to be flawless in your routine. The Lady Mustangs were 6th in the rotation so they would be able to get a good look at the competition.
There were some really good routines, and it would boil down to who made the least amount of mistakes. The Lady Mustangs took to the floor and performed a nearly mistake free routine as the judges squared off the scores. When they finished, fans really felt that they would take home the gold again, but it wasn’t to be. The Lady Knights of Braxton County took home the 2022 CWVAC championship with the Lady Mustangs coming in a close second, just four points from the lead. Taking the 3rd spot was George Washington. The Lady Mustangs were disappointed but left the event on a high note.
Layla Parker and Jacalyn Moore were awarded the All Conference Cheerleaders while Ivy Beard and Jayda Stricker grabbed the All-Tournament CWVAC cheer competition awards. Congratulations to these Lady Mustangs on their accomplishments!