Staff Writer
The Apex varsity cheerleading team
became state champs this Saturday at the 12th annual North Carolina
High School Athletic Association cheerleading championships. The girls took
first place in the medium varsity division, where they competed against 21
teams. Apex won with 122 points.
“When they announced us as first place I
was speechless. My team has worked so hard this season and this is exactly what
we needed,” said coach Courtney May.
May helped prepare the squad for the
championships. “The changes that Courtney made for our routine put us ahead of
our competition. Our amount of skill and talent is what impressed the judges
the most,” said junior Johunna Gatlin, who is one of the varsity captains.
“We had worked so hard for that moment
of victory,” said Gatlin. “Winning states has made us want to win for the rest
of the season and we will strive to do that.”
“Our goals now are to win SWAC, which is the conference competition in December, and the Wake County competition in January,” said May. “I am going to make the routine more difficult but I know my team will be able to keep up with the changes. This is only the beginning and now the bar is set high for the rest of the season.”
Panther Creek came in second with 115.25
points and Cardinal Gibbons came in third with 115.20 in the medium varsity
division. A total of 133 teams participated at this event in the Raleigh
Convention Center.
