A pair of competitive cheerleading squads from Key West and Coral Shores made the trip to South Fork High School Jan. 9 to compete in the FHSAA Region 4 Championships. Competitive cheerleading in Florida offers a dozen divisions for teams to compete in, but both teams ended up in the small, non-tumbling division, making dual regional champs an impossibility but allowing for familiar faces in the crowd.
When the final tabulations were in, Key West’s solid 78.1 score put them in first place in a field of 12 teams entered in their grouping. Many factors contribute to a team’s success, including stunt difficulty and execution, a pyramid, dance, transitions, props and the overall crowd appeal. Key West excelled in all, and the new regional champs earned a trip to Lakeland for the state championships later this month. By winning the regional championship outright, Key West is guaranteed a spot on the mat for the finals. Teams earning high scores but not finishing in first or second place must compete first in a semifinal round.
“This team has worked so hard all season long,” said head coach Madison Garcia. “They show great determination to hit their routine practice after practice, competition after competition. They come to practice every day ready to put the time in to be successful, and that was evident at our regional competition.”
Coral Shores put on a solid performance as well, giving the team an excellent foundation for upcoming seasons. The Hurricanes did not make the cut to the next round, but hit their stunts and scored well in several areas to lay the groundwork for next year. They will build on those elements while boosting their technical difficulty and improving their pyramid and stunting to be contenders in the future.
For Key West, the road continues, and so does the work. The Conchs are not complacent with their routine, by any means. “We will continue to practice every day up until we leave for the state championship,” said Garcia. “We are going to make the adjustments necessary to make our routine even sharper and harder than it was previously to ensure our greatest chances of bringing back a state title.”
The Conchs take to the mat again Jan. 23 at Lakeland’s RP Funding Center for the FHSAA State Championships in a quest to bring home the gold.
