As the Varsity Winter Cheerleading Competition season comes to a close, the girls are getting ready to shake their pom poms for the last time as the Boys and Girls Basketball postseasons finish.

This season, tryouts were hosted in mid October, directly after the fall season. According to Head Varsity Coach Vargas, this was the first step to this season’s success. Having winter tryouts after the fall season allowed the team to keep up its momentum. For this winter season, tryouts were particularly vigorous. For the first time, girls were selected based upon skill, not seniority. With more skill than ever combined into one team at LFHS, the girls were bound to have a successful season.

With the new team in place, the girls got right to work. They took part in six competitions and preformed at countless basketball games. From the beginning of their season to late February, the cheer season has been full of action. In past seasons, the team has only performed in basketball games. However, this year, they competed AND placed in a number of competitions.

Varsity Captains Katie Stovald and Caroline Theis describe their most exciting competition was at Niles West. In this competition, the girls killed it on the floor, performing many new stunts, flips, and tricks. Because of all their hard work, the LFHS Scouts placed and won their very first trophy the Cheerleading Team has seen in nineteen years.

The much anticipated conference competition followed the Niles West competition. Varsity Captain Caroline Theis described conference as, “A huge competition for us because we were the only medium varsity team among all large varsity teams. This means that we were up against teams much larger than us that we don’t normally compete against. However, we finished in fourth place which was a huge success for us.” Their impressive score allowed them to qualify for Sectionals, something that the LFHS Cheerleading Team is not usually able to compete in. During Sectionals, they hit a no reduction routine and landed in seventh place. While missing state by two points was frustrating, they left incredibly proud as they know they left it all on the mat.

Off the mat, the team was almost equally as busy. As an annual tradition, the girls made Valentine Day cards for veterans. This is an opportunity for the team to give back to their community. These Valentines were distributed to wounded veterans in the hospital.

Additionally, the Varsity Competition Cheerleading Team hosted their “Mini Clinic” on February 8, 2019. Their mission was to inspire young girls grades first through eight to become future Scout cheerleaders. During their clinic, the cheerleaders choreograph and teach a dance for the girls to perform at the Boys’ Varsity Basketball halftime show.

This season is certainly one to be remembered with all its successes For seniors Caroline Theis, Katie Stovald, Taylor Schueneman, Ashley Alghini, Maddie Marshall, and Alexis Mory, it is sad to see the season end. However, they are all so proud of the work they have done and excited to pass down the legacy of competition success to the younger girls.