Aubrey, Pilot Point, Tioga bring home state finals awards
Cheer season in the Ranch Cities area reached its peak last week, with the Aubrey Lady Chaps, Pilot Point Lady Cats, and the Tioga Lady Bulldogs competing at the UIL Spirit State Championships held at the Fort Worth Convention Center on Jan. 16 and 17.
All three teams placed in the Top 10 overall in their respective classes, with each team also performing well in individual categories at the event.
The Aubrey Lady Chaps secured a thirdplace finish in 4A, earning bronze placement.
“The energy from their performance was palpable from the stands as these ladies poured their heart into their routine,” Aubrey assistant cheer coach Haley Couture said. “The girls gave it 100% during the first round of prelims but dug deeper and gave 110% in the final round, competing for state. While these young ladies are leading pep rallies, leading the crowd during football and basketball games, or attending other community events, they were committed to each other and put in the hard work and many hours of after-school practice in order to be prepared as their best selves for the competition.”
Couture said the Lady Chaps also appreciated the outpouring of love they received from the Aubrey administration and community that came out to cheer them on.
“Our cheerleaders are huge supporters of many other athletes in the Aubrey community, and it was truly incredible to see that community turn around and be there to support them,” she said. “I would like to give a huge thanks to Dr. Flowers for being such an advocate for our program and putting together a spirit bus, allowing fellow students to attend the competition and show their spirit for this team.”
The Pilot Point Lady Cats earned an eighth-place finish out of 51 teams in 3A and earned third place in Band Chant, sixth place in Crowd Leading and eighth place in Fight Song for their performances.
“I was super pleased with everything,” Pilot Point head cheer coach Sara Wooten said. “They projected well, [and] a lot of things we worked on throughout the season, they hit right on the head. … They put on their best show, [and] it was great to see them pull it all together in the end.”
Senior and team captain Dakota Smalskas cited Coach Wooten as the driving force behind the Lady Cats success.
“In past years it was rough, but [Coach Wooten] came in and picked us up,” she said. “She carried us so far from last year to now, and it was all worth it.”
Fellow senior and team captain, Hannah Warren, said she couldn’t imagine a better ending to her time with the Lady Cats’ cheer squad.
“Dakota and I have been on this team since we were freshmen, and we’ve been through so much with this team,” she said. “Different coaches and so many changes within our program that have caused peaks and valleys, [so] to end this year with these girls who have put in so much work, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Wooten highlighted contributions from Pilot Point senior Brianna Heitzman, who served as the mascot for the Lady Cats UIL performance; junior Sanaa Jackson, who was a last-minute replacement as a flag bearer; and her former cheer coach at the University of North Texas, Tracy O’Neil, who helped choreograph the Lady Cats routine.
The Lady Cats also made sure to thank the Pilot Point administration and community for the support they provided to the team.
“Dr. [Shannon] Fuller was continuously there to support us,” Wooten said. “She’s always been a big advocate for cheer, and it was the same with our principal, Mrs. [Marzia] Infante, and our admin, Dr. [John] Middleton. … Then all of our parents. We couldn’t have done any of this without them.
The Tioga Lady Bulldogs finished eighth out of 76 teams and were selected as the second-best team in the Crowd Leading category in 2A.
“It’s hard getting all 15 girls together, but when we came together for practice, they gave everything they had, and I think it paid off,” Tioga head cheer coach Terri Tackett said. “… Every one of those girls had it in their heart. Usually there’s a confidence, and you either have it or you don’t, and they all had the confidence to go out there and make finals.”
Senior and team captain Ava Jackson expressed her excitement with how the Lady Bulldogs performed on the big stage.
“Throughout the four years I’ve been a cheerleader in Tioga, this was the most impressive group that I’ve cheered with,” senior and team captain Ava Jackson said. “There are a lot of us, and we don’t always get along, but as soon as we went on the mat, you couldn’t tell. We were excited for each other, and it felt like everybody wanted to win.”
Junior team member Mya Alexander said the Lady Bulldogs took their practices to another level in preparation for the UIL Championship competition.
“We practiced every single day, and it was a lot,” she said. “It made my head hurt a little bit with everything we were learning, but it worked out in the end. We knew the more we practiced, the better we were going to do, so we just kept at it until we got it down perfect.”
Tackett credited Taylor Richie and Brooke Holman of Texas Elite Cheer for helping the Lady Bulldogs earn the cheer program’s first Top 10 finish.
“They offered their gym, so we could practice, and [they] helped critique our routine,” she said. “… It’s hard to see everything when you have 15 girls. Taylor and Brooke were really good at finding things that I didn’t see.”
Tackett also offered special thanks to parents and booster club members Amy Alexander and Jasmine Fowler and the Tioga administration and community for the support they provided to the team during the season and at the event.
“Amy and Jasmine are booster club members, and they helped tremendously whenever I felt overwhelmed,” she said. “We even had a fan bus show up with a bunch of the students, and we felt like that helped catapult us into the finals because even though we’re a small school, they came and yelled their hearts out. Our principal, [Keith] Kirkland, even lost his voice from yelling so much, so we appreciated all of the support from the community and admin.”
