News- January 2, 2004

Cheerleaders overcome adversity to win AHSAA 6A State championship

Penny Groux, Special to the Record

Friday, January 2, 2004


The Bob Jones High School varsity competition cheerleaders overcame adversity and took home top honors for 6A schools at the recent Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) competition.

The competition was held at Wallace State Community College and was administered by the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA). Competition was open to any AHSAA school and was divided into eight divisions based upon school size and team composition.

Bob Jones competed against 10 other 6A schools from across the state to win the state championship title.

Shannon Pike, head cheerleading coach at Bob Jones said, "The team had a lot of motivation going into the state championship. We've placed second the last two years and were totally focused this year on bringing home the championship honors."

However, the team almost gave up the chance to compete because one of the cheerleaders suffered a serious hand injury.

Alicia Mooren suffered a hand injury and underwent surgery the day before the competition, according to Pike.

"I changed the routine on Friday to accommodate Alicia's injury and everyone had to learn the new routine and get it solid in just one day. I was so proud of the team for stepping up to the challenge and not giving up," she said.

The team voted unanimously to go forward with the competition, even though they knew many changes to their routine would have to be made prior to competing on Saturday morning. The cheerleaders understood their chances of bringing home the coveted title this year were diminished.

"The team didn't enter the competition worried about winning, they were just proud to say they had gotten through this together. It was a bittersweet victory for us all and one we're proud to say we won through sheer determination and positive attitudes. It is great to be able to bring home this type of honor to Bob Jones High School and the city of Madison," Pike said.

This was the final competition for the Bob Jones cheerleaders until the UCA national competition, which will be held during February in Orlando, Fla.

The team has high hopes of bringing home a national championship title to Bob Jones High School, Pike said.


© 2002 Madison County Record. All rights reserved

First row (kneeling): Erin Laing, Lauren Palmer, Denise Gerrity, Lauren Gilley, Samantha Kyle, Rachel Underwood Second row: Megan Smith, Amanda Brown, Ashley Martin, Alicia Mooren, Brewer Wilbanks, Kelley Eacret, Kecenia Stephenson, Emily Parker Top row: Kelley McKaig, Cortney Smith, Mallory Fallin, Head Coach Shannon Pike, Allison Coleman