HANCEVILLE, ALA.- The winning tradition continued for Sparkman High at the annual AHSAA Alabama State Cheer Competition as the Senators won both the varsity and junior varsity Co-Ed Divisions state championships. Liberty Middle School also came away winners by taking the Small Junior High-Traditional title and placing runner-up in the Junior High Game Day Division. The competition was held at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville.

“The tradition continued for our program and we have another group who showed their expertise in Hanceville,” said Lisa Aderholt, head cheer coach of the squad’s 28^th consecutive win in the Varsity Co-Ed Division. “We battled through some injuries during the season leading into the Sub-State Competition in mid-November and into the State Competition, but these student-athletes still performed. We’ve been dealing with upcoming exams and the holidays, so winning was super impressive this year.”

What made the victory even more impressive this year was the fact 10 of the 20-person roster were first timers to compete on the varsity and seven are freshman.

One of the rookies is Walton Vaughn who also played football for the Senators as a defensive lineman. During the school schedule he would take two physical education classes with one block setup for football and the second arranged for cheer practice. He also attended night practices for cheer when it was feasible.

The Senators scored 85.75 points to runner-up Good Hope which posted a point total of 79. In the JV Division, Sparkman scored 72.90 points for the victory.

“Two of our girls were benched due to injuries just a week before the competition, but our squad pushed through to do their best and that’s what I’m most proud of,” said Kaitlin Longino, third-year head coach of the Sparkman junior varsity squad. “We had a couple drops and minor miscues in the routine as all of the squad members were a little nervous as many of them had never performed in front of a large crowd.”

The JV squad is made up of 19 members, six of which are boys, and each adapted to the adversities they were challenged with and put up good enough numbers to win the state title. Longino added, “They met the challenge and are more determined now for the nationals coming up in February.”

Squad members for the junior Senators included Anna Duvall, Dylan Ratliff, Trevor Hoener, Raven Carter, Kalyb Jordan, Melissa Bradford, Jordan Clemmons, Tyler Vickery, Eve Weber, Jacob Bannerman, Quinton Billups, Samara Brown, Madi Brooks, Bree Crutcher, Ella Jackson, Janiyah Murray, Allie Ocampo, Josie Shallbetter and Lizzy Wilson.

The squad roster for the varsity Senators included assistant coach Ben Park, along with seniors- Eric Bullard, Alexxandria Burnette, Abigail Johnson, Carolyn Scruggs-Webster, Sarah Sipes, Carly Turvin, Walton Vaughn; juniors- Emmalee Anderson, Amari Burton, Vivian McVay, LaTana Sparrow; sophomores- Laura Damewood, James Johnson, Mya Weber; freshmen- Sydney Carter, Jamiyah Dozier, Jada Gibson, Grace Ingram, Chloe Jackson and Senna Roberts.

The Liberty Lions edged Scottsboro 88.30-87.70 to take the Traditional Division and barely finished at runner-up to Thompson in the Game Day Division. Thompson squeaked to a victory by score to 96.60 to Liberty’s 95.80.

Hannah Stockman, in her first year as head coach of the Lions with help from five-year assistant Blake Lane, saw her squad perform what was considered the most difficult routine in the local region. Stockman said of her squad’s winning performance, “We weren’t sure of what the score outcome would be as cheer is very competitive and every single movement counts toward a score.”

The Lions performed in the Game Day event at 9:00 a.m. and returned just six hours later for the Traditional competition. The 21-member squad performed to near perfection.

“These girls have practiced three to five days a week since making the squad in April and their work ethic of being self-motivated really showed at state,” added Stockman. “I’m super proud of how they performed.”

The Liberty squad consisted of Sarah Spickard, Perri McMahn, Ella Thomas, Samantha Rhodes, Madisyn Burgess, Paris Dryer, Kiersten Ratcliff, Kenze Achenbach, Hailey Fronckowiak, Amelia Fronckowiak, Allie Hoover, Katy Benningfield, Ashlyn Newberry, Alyssa Tucker, Kenzie Payne, Kaylee Tucker, Evelyn Edger, Julia Ingalls, Lauren Hewell, Malikah Stowe and Braelynn Etheridge.

For Aderholt, the Saturday competition was just a portion of her day as her daughter, Chelsea, graduated from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa just prior to Aderholt having to make the trip from Tuscaloosa to Hanceville for her squad’s event. Chelsea is a member of the Crimson Tide all-girl cheer squad and was a member of the U.S. National Team, which finished second to Finland last April.

Each of the three squads are headed to the UCA National Cheerleading Competition set for Feb. 10-11 in Orlando, Fla. Set in the same venue at the same time are the Universal Cheerleaders Association World Cheer Championships. The Sparkman varsity took second in last year’s nationals while capturing the school’s first ever World Championship at the world competition. Both Sparkman squads will take part in the world event.