YCHS cheerleaders embrace competition, football

The York Comprehensive High School cheerleaders have taken the program to another level with weekend competitions against some of the best teams in the state.

“We’re just really trying to build our program as we try to catch up with some of these surrounding schools,” said varsity head cheer coach Kelli Burroughs, who is leading the school’s first competitive cheer squad.

“In our fist competition, we came in third,” she said. “In the second competition, we had a lot more teams that we were up against that were more experienced.

“We were really proud of our girls,” she said. “They increased their score. We set a goal for them before the state qualifier and they’ve already surpassed that goal.”

The YCHS cheer squad continued its improvement in last week’s competition, with a region event Wednesday at Northwestern.

“We were excited that the overall performance improved even though we did not place,” said Burroughs. “We are the new kids on the block in the region, which can be tough. But we are working hard to make our mark and show surrounding schools that we are here to compete.”

She added: “Our main goal is to improve with each competition, and we have managed to do that. We were excited to be competing against some great teams in our region.”

Saturday’s competition at Dorman High School was more of the same for a YCHS cheer program.

“It was a really tough competition and there were so many phenomenal teams from across the state,” said Burroughs. “It gave our girls the opportunity to see many of the teams from around the state and help prepare us for state qualifiers in November.

“Our score again had a huge increase from Wednesday’s competition to Saturday’s competition, increasing nearly 70 points which is huge on the judges’ score sheet.

“We are going to continue to make necessary changes and work hard between now and state qualifiers and, hopefully, improve enough to qualify for state.”

Burroughs lauded the YCHS squad for devoting hours to expand the cheer program to include competition.

“The kids have been very, very busy practicing together almost every day of the week, including Friday night football and weekend competition,” she said.

She said the cheerleaders go through extensive preparations before each competition.

“They look at what the score sheets say and the judges’ comments,” said Burroughs. “They then make the necessary changes to help our score each time. It’s a lot of work and dedication on their part and it’s worth it. They’re doing great.

Senior cheerleaders Kaitlyn Spires and Kinleigh Wilkerson have embraced the new challenges.

“It’s really special,” said Spires, who is in her fifth year of cheering. “They are my second family. I love all of the girls and I love being able to come here. I talk to them like my family at home.”

Spires said the cheerleaders stay busy.

“It’s a lot to do but you learn how to manage it,” she said. “It takes a lot of hard work but I love it. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Spires and Wilkerson said high school cheerleading is a year-round sport.

“We practice twice a week, sometimes three times a week during the fall season,” Spires said. “We have football games on Friday and now competitive cheerleading on Saturdays.”

Wilkerson, a cheerleader since seventh grade, said it’s hard to believe she’s in her final year as a cheer participant.

“You don’t realize how fast it goes by until the football games start,” she said, “and before you know it, it’s over.”

Burroughs said the cheerleaders are appreciative of the support they’ve received. “When they went to Liberty for competition, it was a long trip on a week night, and we had a huge crowd there. That was exciting,” she said.

Burroughs said much time is devoted to team bonding.

“We try to have fun and do things together outside of cheering,” she said. “We have a lock-in and sleepover, a movie night or something like that. We try to develop friendships by working together and getting to know each other very well.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 12:55 PM with the headline "YCHS cheerleaders embrace competition, football."