North Cedar cheer team fifth in state

CLARENCE - When you hear the word cheerleading you probably think of girls shouting 'hooray” and doing a jump.

What you don't get to see is the girls practicing and getting ready for their competition routine at state. The North Cedar competed in the Class 2A state cheer division on Nov. 7 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines.

The cheer team is really strong with five seniors who have competed on the competition team for four years.

'After four years I want to go out with a bang,” senior Erin Ruchotzke said. 'We have come a long way since our freshman year.”

Last year the competition team had three boys on the squad so it competed in the coed division at state. As a small school competing in coed, it was difficult because all of the other teams were very big and had many more boys. North Cedar placed third out of the four teams.

This year the cheer team placed fifth in its division, missing the fourth-place trophy by three points.

Ashley Fuller, the cheer coach for the last two years, hosted the Cheer Show Case at the Mechanicsville gym on Nov. 4-5. Teachers, parents and community members were given the honor of watching the cheer team's performance.

The girls' hard practices with stunts, dances and routines were evident with their sharp routine.

The North Cedar honors squad will compete Friday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, during the state football championships.