This past weekend, the Seymour High School Cheerleading Team went to Florida to compete in their first-ever National High School Cheerleading Championship(NHSCC). The Owls made it to the semi-finals before they could, unfortunately, continue. Even with the ending they got, that didn’t put the team down.

“Although we didn’t have the ending we would have hoped for and didn’t advance to finals, making it down here to compete is a goal worth celebrating! These girls worked so hard all year to get here; we are forever proud of them! Now we can experience Disney as a team for the next two days and enjoy our time in the sunshine state.” That is what Kennedy Brown, coach of the team, had to say about their trip on the teams Facebook page.

One of the cheerleaders, Mallory Applegate, was kind enough to give me her thoughts on the trip as well, “Nationals was such an experience for the whole SHS Cheer Team. The hard work and long practices finally paid off and rewarded us with a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We competed against 21 teams and made it to the semi-finals. Once we finished, the whole team got to experience Disney together, which was so much fun. This trip reassured me why I chose cheer and all the memories and friendships this sport has given me. The support of the school, community, and coaches confirmed just how rewarding this experience truly was!”

While Seymour didn’t have the ending they wanted, it was still good. The team was the first to compete in NHSCC and be rewarded for their hard work and entertaining our fellow students and community. Good luck to the cheerleaders for the rest of their careers, and go Owls!