This post was submitted to Manual RedEye by Masara Mtangi (10, J&C).

The duPont Manual High School cheerleading squad came in 10th place out of 17 teams in their division on Dec. 8, 2018 at the Alltech Arena in Lexington, Kentucky for the state cheerleading competition, fighting for a spot to go to nationals.

The cheerleading team won first place in their division on Nov. 3, 2018, at Carroll County High School, which is what will take them on the road to state.

The state competition started at 9 a.m. and the duPont cheerleaders competed at 11:06 a.m. then awards were handed out at 12:30 p.m. for their session.

Although they placed 10th they went up 27 spots, sophomore cheerleader Shaylyn Corthron (10, HSU) said.

The previous competitions they have attended were regional Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) qualifiers, in which they came in first place and UCA national qualifiers they came in fourth. “Meaning we have the opportunity to go to nationals,” Candice Crawford, head coach of the team said.

“We put in our best effort, and everyone is so proud of each other now we can just strive to win next year,” Geda Miles (11, YPAS) said.

The cheer team had been working hard leading up to this moment by having practices on Tuesday and Fridays (4:30 p.m.- 5:30 p.m.) plus extra practice at games which are at 6 p.m. (basketball) and 7 p.m. (football) during halftime shows, and then Wednesday and Thursdays (4:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.)

“It was tiring and stressful having to manage school work and cheer practice especially being so close to finals,” Corthron said.

The duPont Manual cheerleading team has won four state championships and are nine times National Cheerleaders Association.