By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Cair Paravel cheer squad is back on top!
The Lions cheerleaders claimed their fourth state championship in five years, returning to the top of the Class 2A podium after placing second a year ago. To do so, they had to knock off four-time defending Class 3A champ Rossville, which dropped down to 2A for the first time this year.
Cair Paravel cheer celebrates its fourth KSHSAA state cheer championship in five years Nov. 21 at the Stormont Vail Events Center. [Photo by Jan Pabitzky/Special to TSN]
Cair Paravel cheer poses for a team picture after winning its fourth KSHSAA state cheer championship in five years Nov. 21. [Photo by Jan Pabitzky/Special to TSN]
Cair Paravel’s elementary students took to the school’s hallways last Friday to celebrate the cheer squad who paraded through the hallways displaying their latest trophy. The school’s upper grades rallied in the gymnasium to celebrate the squad’s fourth state title – still the school’s only trophies since it earned KSHSAA membership in 2020.
Last year, the Lions placed second to Oskaloosa, snapping their string of three wins in as many attempts. At this year’s competition on Nov. 21 at Stormont Vail Events Center, the Lions got by Rossville to reclaim the title.
“When we got second place last year, I think that really sparked a fire in us,” said Cair Paravel coach Courtney Bond. “I had a meeting with Coach Edye (Sack) and our returning seniors, and we talked about what we needed to do so that doesn’t happen again. We talked about song changes, choreography changes, adding different props and those kinds of things. We watched a lot of film. And I think the girls were just hungrier this year than ever before.”
“I think we all kept a pretty good attitude about (finishing second in 2024),” said senior Logan Johnson. “We just came back wanting that win our senior year. We focused on keeping a great mindset that, win or lose, this does not define us. We added some extra practices this year and worked with our choreographer a little bit more to just have some more help.”
Taking second place after a run of championships caused the Lions to reevaluate and adjust their priorities.
“Losing last year sort of made us more easy-going this year,” senior Maddy Freund said. “I think all of us were not as stressed this year.”
“We changed our focus this year,” Bond said. “Instead of a championship being our focus, we focused on bettering our skills competing against ourselves, viewing our abilities as a gift from God and using this performance as a form of praise and thanksgiving to Him.”
Reclaiming the crown got significantly tougher when Rossville moved to 2A. The Bulldawgs were the 3A champs from 2021-2024.
“We’ve always had the utmost respect for Rossville as they are the most dominant program across all the classes in the state,” Bond said. “They were the four-time 3A champs and had literally never lost before in person (Rossville did not win the virtual competition held during the pandemic).”
Bond said her team showed signs of intimidation when the news first came out of Rossville moving to 2A. But she credits the girls for rising to the challenge.
“Knowing that Rossville was dropping down just made them want to work harder,” Bond said. “We focused not on just ourselves as cheerleaders but using this performance as a way to glorify God and to represent our school really well. And they just went out and crushed it.”
Bond said Cair Paravel distinguished itself amongst all classes at the competition. She said after the preliminary round, of the 114 squads in all 6A-1A, the Lions ranked second behind only Mill Valley, which went on to win the 6A title for the third consecutive year. After the finals round, the Lions ranked fourth in the state.
Cair Paravel has created a cheer pipeline. The school’s Little Lions Cheer Camp attracts about 65 participants each summer. High school students who have no background in cheer join the team to be part of the success. Athletes involved in other sports make time to be on the cheer squad, too, because they see the benefit of the experience.
Before earning full KSHSAA membership in 2020, Cair Paravel was allowed to compete against KSHSAA schools in every sport prior to the state playoffs. Cair Paravel would then participate in some season-concluding tournament, typically sponsored by their league. But beginning in 2020, the Lions have been able to see where they stand against the state’s KSHSAA schools.
Since 2020, Cair Paravel has been a regular placer in the state scholars bowl and has seen other teams and individuals make playoff runs. But the cheer squad still claims the school’s only title.
