Waukee Cheerleaders Rise to the Top at State Cheerleading Championship

Waukee High School’s competition cheer and stunt squads earned high marks at the 2012 Iowa Cheerleading Coaches Association State Competition held Nov. 3 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

The squads took first place in the 4A division for both Cheer and Stunt Group.  In addition to the two state titles, Waukee’s second stunt group took fourth place in the Large School Stunt division beating out a field of 37 teams. Waukee's Purple competition squad placed fifth in the Large School Time Out division.

Waukee was represented by its Gold competition squad in the 4A Cheer division, two stunt groups in the Stunt Team Large division and its Purple Squad in the Time Out Large School Division.  The Gold Squad performed one of the most difficult routines of the day achieving Elite Difficulty classifications in all aspects of the routine including standing and running tumbling, jumps, stunts, tosses and pyramids. They will travel to Dallas, TX during the first week of January to compete in the 2013 NCA National High School Cheerleading Championships.

Additionally, three members of Waukee High School’s varsity football cheer squad were named to the 2012 Iowa Cheer Honor Squad. Ally Lovan, Tori Monroe and Emma Drees join more 200 other juniors and seniors from 86 Iowa High Schools as members of the ICCA 2012 Iowa Cheer Honor Squad.  This team is made up of varsity cheerleaders who are selected by their cheer coaches based upon their leadership skills and commitments to their school.   The 2012 Iowa Cheer Honor Squad performed at the halftime of the 1A & 2A IHSAA Football Championship Games at the Unidome in Cedar Falls on Nov. 16.

The cheerleaders who competed in the state tournament include:

State Championship Gold Squad

Nicole Allen, Sheldon Buss, Emily Carlson, Miranda Conner, Taylor Cork, Megan DeMouth, Emma Drees, Kassidy Hays, Kendall Hays, Ally Lovan, Mara Mapes, Tori Monroe, Brittany Novak, Olivia Prohaska, Samantha Schaefer, Audrey Wood.  (Alternates:  Karly Artino, Talia Buss, Morgan Potts)

State Championship Stunt Team (Team B)

Miranda Conner, Taylor Cork, Emma Drees, Kendall Hays, Audrey Wood (alternate: Tori Monroe)

Stunt Team A – 4th Place

Sheldon Buss, Megan DeMouth, Ally Lovan, Kassidy Hays, Samantha Schaefer

Competition Purple Squad

Maddie Chilton, Katie Markey, Diana Clark, Brooklyn Allison, Amber Holloway, Tori Goertz, Hailey Buzynski, Emily Markey, Talia Buss, Rylie Dunn, Katie Schaffer, Olivia Wood, Sawyer Wiese, Missy Crow, Breann Pieretti, Olivia Perez, Maddie Hess

The 2012 Iowa Cheerleading Coaches Association State Competition is the largest and most prestigious state cheerleading competition in Iowa for High School Cheerleading squads. More than 150 cheer teams made up of approximately 1000 cheerleaders from all across the State of Iowa participated in this event comprising 12 Division ranging from small schools (1A) to large schools (4A & 4A Large).