The cheer team placed fifth at the IHSA State competition last Saturday. The team traveled to prelims the day before, facing multiple rounds of competition before taking home a top-five finish in the state of Illinois. With a win in the Dupage Valley Conference meet, a second place at the Andrew Sectional, and top five in Illinois, the cheer squad has had an extremely successful postseason.

The athletes and their coach, Lisa Braheny, had a team breakfast the morning that they left for the first day of the competition. Where many people would be nervous, the cheer squad was happy and excited. Most of all, they were confident. “This team is there for each other in every aspect, and that’s going to make them successful because they trust one another,” Braheny said.

The cheer team competes in the coed division, where they took eighth in prelims and fifth in finals. They scored 86.23 points in their finals round, beating Rockford at 85.03 and just falling to Plainfield South at 86.36.

Their postseason success capped off a very strong season for the team. Athlete and junior Justin Rice believes that the key to that success has been the team’s strong relationships. “We’re friends, we’re family, we make each other laugh and bring each other up when we’re down,” Rice said. That winning culture was apparent at all points in the season and definitely paid off at State.