Chippewa, Dalton, Orrville and Hiland cheerleading teams qualify for state competition

Giving an opportunity to compete at a high level in cheer is something that Chippewa, Dalton, Hiland and Orrville have all succeeded at over the years.

Sunday, they all punched their tickets to the state competition at the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators regional competition at Perry High School.

The Chipps will be making their third trip to state, with their most recent trip in 2020 and then in 2017. During that span, Chippewa has sent a cheerleader to college for STUNT every year since 2019. This year they will be competing with their game day routine, non-stunt, as they look to put the cherry on top of their season.

"It's really awesome for the girls," said Chipps coach Michelle Ries. "It's wonderful, to see that kind of success after all the planning, the hard work and striving each day to reach for that goal and then getting that reward, after all that dedication."

Led by seniors Ricki Reed, Robin Jolley and Kaidy Funk, Chippewa turned Perry High School into its own game day set by flying through a state style routine.

"Just to be able enjoy that experience of all of the building we have done," said Ries. "From technique, to strategy, to learning about that cheer venue and what it takes to get in the position to be one of the best. It's about being consistent, and it truly benefits them a lot to go through that preparation."

As for sending girls to college for STUNT over the years:

"It's nice to know and it inspires that competitive nature in these girls," said Ries. "We can help point you in the right direction, help you get ready and doing sports in college is important. Everyone needs to get that opportunity and support."

Now her team of 15 cheerleaders will eye Sunday, March 5 as their next major hurdle. With state at Big Walnut High School, the Chipps will continue to finish putting everything together and look to finish big. From Friday night lights to the stage at Big Walnut, Ries talked about how the girls had practiced routines during football games, to further their ability to execute their roles. Now it's about putting those individual routines together and continue to refine them, take the feedback from them and strive to get better.

"It's awesome to get there and knowing that you qualified after all that hard work," said Ries. "We know that we're better than last year, we fixed some of the problems that we got feedback on and it's so nice to see these girls get rewarded. They are so dedicated, all of these girls are invested, they are all consistent and eager to know what they can do to get better. Those are the building blocks for good people in general and successful adults. It's really getting that opportunity to build to be better people all around."

The Bulldogs punched their second ticket to state in Div. V for their routine in game day building with STUNT, with their last trip coming in 2020. For Dalton it's been a whirlwind time since coach Don Stoll took over early in 2022 and first introduced the squad to STUNT. They attended a camp at Ashland University and then were advised they needed to make their routine tougher and attended a second camp to advance their skills.

"This is so special," said Stoll. "We just started STUNT back in June, it was brand new and then at the second camp, we really advanced our STUNT skills."

Led by seniors Sophia Salehi, Rachel Vance, Jenna Fink, Sarah Cross, Sophia Carpenter, Skylar McConnell, Jordan Peters and captains Abbie Bockey and Paige Tomlinson, the Bulldogs never flinched as they attacked their routines. The squad of 17 cheerleaders, two of which are freshmen and a mixture of experience, came together over the months since June.

Then they heard their name called at Perry High School and it set off a jubilation celebration.

"I can't express how hard these girls work," said Stoll. "STUNT is not easy and they make it look easy. For them to get their name called today, that is the best feeling ever and this one is very special."

For Stoll, it will be his ninth trip to state and fourth time leading a squad, but this one touched home a little more.

"This is such an amazing mixture of young ladies, and they all had the goal of what we did today," he said. "These seniors have had three coaches during their time and today what they accomplished, is amazing. We never thought we'd be this far, and this just means so much to our seniors and to the entire team."

Stoll also talked about the support from community.

"The Dalton community is the best," Stoll said. "The way they have responded to us, rallied for us, it's amazing."

Now the Bulldogs will eye March 4, when they compete at Big Walnut High School for state.

The Red Riders are state bound for the third time in four years, including back-to-back years. Orrville first punched its ticket in 2020 and then in 2022 under Stoll. This year, it had first-year coaches Kelly Walker and Danielle Dalessandro step up and the program didn't skip a beat. Instead, under the guidance of Walker, who is the varsity coach and Dalessandro, the junior varsity coach, the cheerleading program may have even gotten a tad better as it qualified for the first-time in program history in two categories. They will be competing on March 5 at Big Walnut High School in Div. IV traditional competition with a nine-girl squad that is non-STUNT and Div. IV game day non-STUNT team of 14 girls.

"We are so excited," said Walker. "We set our expectations high because we knew they could do it; we knew we had a pretty solid foundation already; we wanted them to have fun, try out the game day routine and then to get to state, we were over the moon when both teams qualified."

A year ago, that team was led by lone senior Caitlyn Race, and this year's team is identical as it's led by lone senior Molly Moomaw, who excels on both teams.

"Most of the girls are returners from last year's state team, so we have that core unit," said Walker. "They all put in the work and really outdid even our expectations."

"We had a lot of support from our AD and athletic trainer, they were incredible in supporting cheerleading and it made the girls feel like they could accomplish a lot too," said Walker. "They were really flexible with changes; they took them from us and rolled with it and I think it's how we got to this point."

As for the nerves at regionals, Walker didn't feel that was an issue as with majority of the roster returning, they knew the flow of things. For the first-year or newer members, the veterans were there to offer calming words and keep the focus on the prize.

"The vibe was more excitement than nerves," smiled Walker. "It was great and exciting to see."

The Hawks have quietly put themselves on the map as on Sunday, they officially made it three years in a row of reaching the highest levels of cheer competition. Led by seniors Itzelle Guzman and Riley Shaw, who have been there since the start of the program four years ago, they now become the Hiland's first four-year seniors to come through.

"They are fantastic and are great leaders," said Hawk's co-coach Brooke Yoder. "They have a lot of experience and have been a key part of this team bonding so well together. They all encourage each other, love each other and want to do well for each other."Hiland's team of six, may be small, but is fierce on the mats as they have found ways to perfect their routines, though not having all the avenues other cheer programs have. Instead, they competed in other events like the Minerva Competition, where they placed fourth, The Best in the State, where they took second and the OHSAA Spirit State Competition where they finished second. To make matters tougher, they decided to try and tackle a Game Day routine, non-STUNT, for the first time in program history. It definitely worked out just fine for the Hawk's when they heard their named called this past Sunday at the Perry Regional. They will now compete on Saturday, March 4th in the Div. V Game Day category, non-STUNT.

"We did our choreography in September," said Yoder. "Once volleyball and soccer were done, these girls totally focused in on working on their routines, practiced hard, competed as much as possible and with a squad of mostly freshman, we get some experience."

Yoder and her co-coach Callie Gerber lauded the girls work and passion to put the Hawk's on the map as a huge driving force.

"They are always so determined and work hard," said Yoder. "They want to put us on the map and have earned recognition for how hard they have and continue to work, they are doing a great job."

It safe to say, that Guzman, Shaw and the rest of the team have punched that pin in the map and the Cheer Competition world now knows, where Berlin is.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Four local cheerleading teams qualify for state competition