The Daviess County and Owensboro Game Day cheerleading squads will hit George Rogers Clark High School today for the KHSAA State Competitive Cheer Championship in Winchester.
Owensboro will perform at 10:54 a.m. EST with Daviess County performing at 2:04 p.m. EST.
Owensboro coach Sarah Price said the plan is simple for the Red Devils tomorrow.
“Our outlook for tomorrow is to hit a clean routine and have lots of energy,” she said. “We most importantly want to have fun and represent Owensboro High School in the best way possible.”
The Red Devils competed at state last season and used that momentum into a successful campaign this year.
Price said that played into their goal to return to state.
“Our focus from the beginning of this season was to have a strong team, work hard, and persevere through all the hard obstacles,” she said. “We have worked very hard on our motions and stunt skills this season.”
Price said while a high finish is the hope, she just wants her squad to be pleased with how far they’ve come this season.
“I want the team to gain experience and confidence in their competition skills,” she said. “I want them to hit a clean routine that they will be proud of. I want them to showcase their talents that they have worked so hard for.”
DC coach Kitty Jones and her squad also bring back a lot of experience this season and Jones said they want to build off of that.
“Knowing going into the competition that we are a contender is definitely a new territory for these group of athletes, learning to find the drive and hunger from coming from behind is a great motivator from past experiences, in my opinion,” she said. “Getting out to a few competitions leading into this one proved to the team they were capable.”
Jones said their outlook for today hit a strong routine and bring the most spirit they can.
“The focus has been to adapt quickly, not to make excuses, become consistent, and to develop the program the best we could due to the many uncertain circumstances faced,” she said.
Much like Price and the Red Devils, Jones wants her team to get the most they can out of the experience.
“I want the squad to get a great experience as a team together, work hard as a team for each other, and hopefully be able to celebrate as a team together no matter where we end up,” she said. “Even if it is a celebration of surviving the season, a lot of good life lessons were learned this year as well as learning they we in fact capable of greatness.”
