By Makala Finley

Winning a state championship is something to be happy about, but when it’s the third consecutive year that this coveted title is received, happiness is an understatement. On Jan. 23 the varsity and junior varsity cheerleaders competed at the state championship held in the Texas State University gym. This is their third year for the varsity girls to bring this title home to the Mavs. The girls competed against six other teams in their division, and there were 125 schools total at the competition. The varsity cheerleaders have spent countless hours preparing for this annual competition, making their win that much more exhilarating.

” It was exciting to hear our name being called as first place against six other teams. It was surprising that it was our third year winning. We’ve worked just as hard as the previous years, if not harder. We’ve practiced every day for the past month,” sophomore flier and second year varsity member Madison Stewart said. ” I think we definitely deserved it. Now we go to Nationals in Florida in two weeks”

Though it was exciting to win the state championship, cheer coach Brandi Boyd almost expected the girls to sweep the competition.

“With the team we have this year, I expected it. They’re better than the teams that we’ve had in the past. The night before we kind of had a bad performance,” Boyd said. “However, they really pulled it together. They exceed my expectations every time.”

Leadership is a vital role that the competition team is centered around. With a great team also comes a superb cheer captain. Lauren Alexander is this year’s cheer captain, and last year’s co-captain, so running a squad is nothing new to her. She’s exuberant about her team’s success.

“It made me feel proud to be a part of a team that did this [win state championships] three years in a row. A lot of teams may win it one year, but then they fall back the next year,” Alexander said. “Honestly, it’s rare to hear about a team winning state championships three years in a row.”

The varsity squad hopes to continue their legacy and they’re currently focused on the Florida Cheerleading Nationals coming up in the next two weeks. Meanwhile, the junior varsity squad earned second at their state competition, showing they are more than ready to follow in varsity’s footsteps.