The Varsity and Junior Varsity cheerleaders recently traveled to Fort Worth to compete in the UIL State Spirit Championship. The cheer camp is usually about four days long with 1A to 6A schools competing over that length of time.

LCM cheer sponsor Brandy Cricchio said the cheerleaders decided to start competing the very first year UIL incorporated this competition. This year, LCM placed 10th in State at the competition and even though only first, second, and third place teams received a medal, the top 10 are announced at the awards ceremony.

The team performs three preliminary routines: the band dance, the fight song, and the crowd-leading cheer. The team worked together for several months leading up to the State competition, and started back at the end of October with after school practices four times a week. The team also had to balance extra practices with their regular cheerleading duties for football games, basketball games and pep rallies. They gave each other encouragement and support whenever they needed it all while coming up with ideas of different things to incorporate to make their routines the best they could be.

“My first favorite memory about UIL, was hearing our school name being called for the top 10 placement among the 83 4A schools across Texas,” Cricchio said. “That was our goal going into this year and to see that accomplished was the best feeling. My second favorite memory was when our girls supported our fellow 4A school Lumberton in their celebration of placing second in the State. In that moment, I was so proud of the LCM cheerleaders and the integrity and sportsmanship they showed towards Lumberton.”

This year’s team had high goals for this competition and made sure that everyone stayed motivated. Cricchio said they all became closer as a group while at the competition and all of the practices that led up going to State. They learned what competing as a team was all about, what good sportsmanship is, and displayed it throughout the entire competition. Cricchio said she could not be more proud of this group of cheerleaders on and off the mat.

“We had a team dinner the first night we got there at the Cheesecake Factory,” Cricchio said. “Once we got back to our hotel, we had a themed dress-up practice and meeting. Each group decided a theme that they would all dress up as and we went over everything for the competition and had a motivational meeting. It was a lot of fun and great for team bonding.”

Cricchio feels like the competition went very well and that there are always things people can improve on, but overall, it was one of their best finishes since they reached their goal. The team is also planning to attend and join the State competition once again next year.

“The best part about traveling was the great bond this group shares and seeing their hard work pay off,” Cricchio said. “I hope they learned that with team work anything is possible. They learned what it takes to compete at the state level and that hard work does pay off.”