Gilmer High cheerleaders took the floor for the final time this season.
GHS was at Morgan County High School last Saturday for the region competition. Gilmer had one of its best performances of the year and scored a 58 for third place.
Their score landed just outside of the top 16 in Class 3A, and GHS did not advance to state finals.
“The girls did really well,” said head coach Naomi Esparza. “The score wasn’t quite high enough to make it to the second day of state but they did well and had their hugest score this season. Overall, we saw a lot of improvements as far as tumbling and transitions so we were really proud of what they did.
“Going into the week, I asked them for more effort and to really push as much as they could, and I think we really got to see that come full circle Saturday.”
Dawson County won the region championship, and although Gilmer’s season has concluded, Esparza was happy to see this young group peak at the end.
“As with any growing team with as many young athletes as we have, we really want to see them grow and see what their potential is,” she said. “I think we saw that Saturday. They’re not as experienced as some of the other teams we saw with us having so many young kids, but they did a good job rising to the occasion and doing everything we’ve asked of them.”
GHS will return the majority of its lineup next season. Esparza wants cheerleaders to stay active so they can continue to improve and reach their postseason goals.
“One thing I really want to do, and I’ve expressed this to the girls, is I want to keep them in the gym, in the weight room and in a tumbling facility so we can get some tumbling and stunts in,” she said.
“I think one disadvantage is our county doesn’t have an all-star feeder program like a lot of our surrounding counties do. The offseason is really important because that’s when your new skills are learned so we can come back in March really ready to go.”