As the 2023 athletic season continues, CHS’s coed cheerleading team is facing success in their own pursuits! Aside from cheering at football games and preparing for basketball season, the cheer program also competes at their own competitions! Recently, three individual stunt groups competed at the IASP Cheerleading Championships.
IASP, or Indiana Association of School Principals, is the state cheerleading competition for Indiana. Competing teams send in a video of their stunt group performing a routine and it is judged by the official IASP panel. A specific scoring rubric is used based on difficulty, execution, variety, and creativity. The teams have been scored and the results are in!
All three of Chesterton’s submitting stunt groups have placed in the top five. Starting the placements, the CHS “Gold Group” are the state runner-ups, taking second place right behind a Charlestown High School team. The “Gold Group” consisted of Senior Kya Trafny, Juniors Bayli Stills and Jori Hawkins, and Sophomore Bobby Spencer. Their group faced some last-minute changes that they had to work through, but they persevered. After working tirelessly to get to this point, it is safe to say that their hard work has paid off.
“It is really rewarding, all of our progression this year is paying off and I’m really proud of this group for putting this routine together in such a short amount of time,” Stills commented.
Coming in third place is the Chesterton “White Group”. Their group consisted of Seniors Bella Walsh, Jaden Fields, and Kai Marten, along with Sophomores Gionna Pinkston and Levi Swart. The “White Group” was quite the mixed bag, as everyone in the group performed in
multiple stunt positions in the performance. Nonetheless, the group showed their diverse talents and came in third!
“I think that being diverse and having multiple spots in the routine helped show something unique and that probably gave us an advantage when they were scoring our stunts,” Walsh said when discussing her group’s routine.
Topping off the top five is the Chesterton “Maroon Group”. Consisting of Juniors Aubrey Schilla and Jori Higdon, Sophomore Niko Monaco, and Freshman Emma Gilbert, the “Maroon Group” has worked all season long to progress as much as they can. They consistently stay after practices, continuing to push themselves to new heights, gaining new skills, and perfecting their craft.
“It’s so important to me because it is what makes cheer worth doing. Hitting your new skills and having the adrenaline when you know you got something you worked so hard for is the best feeling. When you work so hard to get a new skill and achieve it it is one of the most rewarding feelings in the sport,” Higdon commented.
Overall, it is very impressive to see all of the groups make the top five in the State of Indiana. The work ethic from the entire program is very impressive and shows that through grit, determination, and drive, you can achieve anything.
“I think after seeing that we are all capable of being in the top 5, I think without a doubt we can claim the number one spot. With the routine we did and how well it was executed it is very motivating to reach that goal”, Spencer said when talking about the future.
