Orrville and Hiland competitive cheer teams reach state
This past Sunday at Perry High School both Orrville and Hiland’s competitive cheer teams punched their ticket to state amongst a field of 80 teams. With four "Q"s flashed by the judges to both squads, they both will get the chance to bring home the state hardware in Div. V as they both advanced out of the Northeast Regional.
“We want a big state plaque up there with the football and basketball state honors,” said Red Rider coach Don Stoll. “That has been the goal since August.”
For Orrville, it is their second appearance in the last three years, as it is led by its lone senior and captain Caitlyn Race. She is joined by teammates Aizlynn Veermara, Catrina Race, Jenny Arriaga, Abby Troyer, Molly Moomaw, Chloe Albrecht, Coco Criss, Kinsi Longworth, Jordyn Griffin and Mikayla Walker. Starting in August, this group learned their dance routine with music with a professional choreographer and have been honing it since.
“Caitlyn is an awesome leader and motivator. She pulls the girls in and they believe in what she says,” said Stoll. “We knew this team was very talented and expectations were very high with nine out of 12 coming back from last year.”
As for the feeling knowing they had clipped that ticket and all the support that has helped to build to this opportunity:
“It’s the best feeling ever, no matter how many times you do it,” said Stoll. “Everyone has been awesome here at Orrville, from our athletic director [Audrey Zuercher] to our superintendent [Jon Ritchie] and literally everyone. I mean we have our own cheer floor. Competitive cheer is truly treated like a sport here.”
The state competition is set for Sunday, Feb. 27 at Pickerington North High School in Columbus.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Orrville and Hiland competitive cheer teams reach state
