The last time they took the mat, the competition cheer team was competing for a national title.
As the girls took their position for the first competition of the 2025-26 season, the Husky Cheer Challenge, the pressure was on to continue where they left off last year.
The competition, which took place on Dec. 6, served as a kickoff for many teams’ competition seasons. In the gym stood 53 cheer teams from Central Florida each awaiting their turn to perform in front of a panel of Universal Cheer Association judges.
The teams won in all three of their divisions. For the first time in recent history, the Game Day (sideline cheering team), Junior Varsity and Varsity (extra-large, traditional cheering division) teams all won first place.
“I [was] most nervous in the stunting,” junior Taylor Voigt said. “We all [knew] we [could] ‘hit’ our routine; it was just a matter of proving ourselves.”
Though varsity was the only team in their division this time around, meaning they took first by default, that does not mean that attaining their high score of 87 points was an easy feat.
Since September, the girls have spent countless hours training after school for their first competition, by revising routines, perfecting stunts and regularly incorporating strength training into their workouts.
“[Winning] felt amazing knowing that all the hours of practice were worth it,” senior Miriam Pierre said.
Varsity tied with local nine-time repeat state champions Lake Mary, in terms of raw score, even without all of the Hagerty team members, albeit they were in different divisions.
Competitive cheer divisions are categorized by composition (co-ed or all girls), size (from small to extra large), type (traditional or Game Day), age (middle or high school) and tumbling or non-tumbling.
Last year, varsity competed in the Small Traditional Non-Tumbling division; while this year they were in Extra-Large Traditional Non-Tumbling.
Several girls were not able to make it to Cheer Challenge due to participating in neighboring showcases, meaning several junior varsity members had to take their place, but that did not stop them from taking home three first-place banners.
“[We went in] just expecting to do our best and do what we knew how to do as a team,” Pierre said. “The result [reflected] exactly that. Even though it wasn’t perfect, it was still quite the accomplishment.”
(photo by Kayla Rrapi)
Between anticipating the first competition of the season, rebuilding groups based on missing students and knowing the importance of their first official score since last February, the pressure was intense.
“I [was] most nervous in the stunting,” Voigt said. “Also, the [competition] is hosted by Hagerty, so we want [our performance] to be the real show.”
Cheer Challenge is scored in a multitude of categories, from tumbling to showmanship, and contestants receive comments regarding their performance so they know what to target in future practices to improve their routine.
“[The score] serves as a baseline,” Voigt said. “In a few weeks we go to States. So it helps us build [up] our scores throughout the season.”
With so many different categories, it can be difficult to tell what to improve on and what stood out in the routine.
“We’re going to work on timing of all the skills, and overall just [try] to clean the whole routine up so it’s sharper,” Pierre said.
With three wins under their belt and a new perspective on their routines, cheer is ready for the competition season ahead of them. On Wednesday, Dec. 10, they compete at Lake Brantley High, and that same Saturday they will compete at Regionals, where they hope to move on to States on Jan. 21 and 22.
