Lamar cheerleaders win third state title in a row

Sep. 24—As a seventh grader, Chloe Woodall made a promise to her fellow classmates: They were going to win state their senior year.

Woodall, who is now co-captain of the Lamar cheerleading team, and her fellow seniors were able to make good on that vow as the Lady Raiders placed first in their division at the MAIS state competition Wednesday in Jackson.

"Accomplishing that goal has made high school so much more memorable," Woodall said.

It didn't come easy, however. Many of the cheerleaders play other sports, which forced them to have early morning practices before school throughout the fall since some of the girls would be booked with other activities in the afternoon. Amanda Slay, Lamar's cheerleading coach, said their willingness to go out of their way to practice showed just how serious they were about winning state.

"There was never a complaint," Slay said. "They worked hard for it because it was something very important to them. They're just a very special group of girls, both the high schoolers and middle schoolers. They're very motivated academically and athletically. Whatever the challenge, they're going to meet it."

It was both the varsity and junior varsity teams' third year in a row to win state, and the desire to defend their title is part of what made them willing to put in work early in the mornings before school.

"I think we got to experience how winning state felt and didn't want to give up our title," co-captain Ava Partridge said. "We were very committed to getting the win."

The routine they did was difficult, Slay said, but that was by design, as teams are awarded more points for difficulty. Woodall said the challenge isn't something from which she and her teammates have ever shied away.

"Lamar has always had a difficult routine," Woodall said. "It helps boost our score, and with all that pressure and motivation, it really drove us to hit those difficult stunts."

Perhaps the most difficult part was waiting to find out if they'd won. Lamar's varsity team did their routine at approximately 3:30 p.m. Wednesday but wasn't informed of their first-place finish until nearly two hours later.

"It was definitely nerve-racking," Woodall admitted. "Cheer is the one sport where you really don't know how you did right after you perform. We just spent the time bonding with the team and hoping for the best."

Bonding was the easy part, Partridge said, because the girls were already so close.

"The work we put in just really came together because we were such a close team," Partridge said.

After finding out they won, Slay said it was an emotional moment for her as a coach.

"My daughter cheered, and it was always emotional when she would win," Slay said. "On the middle school squad I have 20 girls, and on the high school team it's 17, so compared to just one child versus 20 and 17, it's a different and proud feeling. I was at every practice with them and know how hard they worked for it, and I'm just extremely proud."

Going out a state champion her senior year is a memory for which Partridge will always be grateful.

"This is what we wanted," Partridge said. "It's why we practiced so much. We wanted it to be special with it being our last competition, and we wanted to go out with a win."