In only its second year of competitive cheerleading, Neelyville School District has placed at a state competition.
Neelyville cheerleaders were among three area schools to claim second in their divisions Saturday in Cape Girardeau, where the Missouri Cheerleading Coaches Association State Competition was held.
Neelyville cheerleaders took second in the 1A Small Division. Campbell took second in the 1A Large Division and Dexter took second in the 2A Large Division.
According to one coach, the divisions are based on a combination of school size and number of squad members.
All-State honors went to four Neelyville students: Lora Ainley, Base; Livvy Isom, Backspot; Brooklyn Piroli, Flyer; and Maddie Lumby, Base and Tumbling.
“This is this is only our second year ever competing. We were new to the sport last year, and so there was definitely a little bit of a learning curve,” said Neelyville Cheerleading Coach Brandi Lumby.
The team was really excited about the routine this year.
“We added some very difficult stunts and pyramid sequences. So we kind of we rolled the dice and went with (a) higher difficulty, and it really paid off,” Lumby said. “We hit those stunts and pyramid sequences in the routine.”
Lumby said she, along with her assistant coach Jennifer Barker, have to get creative because they have a smaller group of girls than many schools.
“I always give a big thank-you to my parents (of students). Because we couldn’t do it without their support and them allowing their child to be so busy, because we’re very, very busy,” she said.
Lumby said the support of the school district, as well as the continued support of their small community is appreciated because they do a lot of fundraising to help the team.
“We sell mums. We do cheer camp. This summer we did car washes,” she explained. “We are just basically always fundraising so we can pay for hotel rooms, fees or equipment, so we appreciate all the help we get with that.”
Lumby expressed her anticipation for the upcoming year saying, “We’re just really excited because we’re not going to lose anyone on the team this year. So we’re going to get to come back next year.”