On Jan. 15, UIL Cheer competed at the state UIL competition in Fort Worth. Overall, they received sixth place. 

“This is LCM’s seventh year to compete at UIL,” coach Carlie Fults said. “This is also UIL’s seventh year to hold this competition, so we were at the first.” 

The team put in months of practice leading up to the competition. From tryouts to rehearsing, the team put in work to ensure they were prepared to compete. 

“We received our choreography in October,” Fults said. “From there, we worked every day during the periods, after school, and every Saturday until the time of competition. We also held a ‘show-off’ for our parents, family, and friends who wanted to come watch, and went to Hardin-Jefferson to do another ‘show-off’ where other teams were too, so we could see how we would compare and get used to performing in front of others.” 

The team left Jan. 14 and competed on Jan. 15, when they cheered in the first round and then advanced to the finals. 

“With every number we reached, the girls kept looking back at us in excitement, because they knew they hit it perfectly,” Fults said. “As 8th place came, and we didn’t get it, the girls were ecstatic in hopes that we did better than we did in the previous year. As they announced us as 6th, the girls stood up with excitement and we were through the roof.” 

According to Fults, she and the other cheer coach, Brandy Cricchio, are not just proud of the team for placing sixth. They are also proud of the girls for their work ethic and determination.

“I am so proud of the girls,” Fults said. “Although we have quite a few seniors graduating, many of the girls realized their potential [that] they could have coming back next year, and are already ready to incorporate new things in the off season. The girls want more and to constantly do better and be better. We are grateful for a great group that gets along great and puts in work even outside of practice.”