Following victories at the regional spirit competitions in Grand Junction on Nov. 23, the Montezuma-Cortez High School spirit teams entered the Colorado state spirit competition with high hopes.
Unfortunately, things did not go as well for the Panthers as they might have liked, yet ultimately, M-CHS cheerleaders and dancers acquitted themselves well.
DANCE TEAM NOTCHES
TOP 10 FINISH
In Denver at the state dance competition on Dec. 6, the regional champion Panthers’ dance team performed well, placing tenth in the 16-team competition.
“The girls did really well,” said assistant coach Amy Smith. “For this school to have a dance team qualify for nationals, that’s huge.”
While the M-CHS dancers have yet to decide whether they will attend the national competition early next year, a lot will depend on the team’s ability to fundraise in the coming months.
“We’re going to need to raise roughly 10,000 dollars,” said Smith.
Regardless of whether the team attends the national competition however, there is no doubt that the recently concluded season turned out to be a huge success.
CHEERLEADERS FACE
TOUGH COMPETITION
Competing in the always-difficult 4A classification, M-CHS cheerleaders were aware that they would be hard pressed to compete with the state’s top teams.
Even so, the Panthers put forth a solid performance, placing 33rd out of 39 teams.
“We’re just a small squad against really big squads,” said Panthers’ head coach Ashley Johnson. “We did well.”
With their competition season now complete, Panthers cheerleaders will continue pumping up home crowds during basketball games before preparing for next competition season.