Bulldog cheerleaders are best in state (with photo gallery)

The students and staff of Crestview High School were out in full force Monday afternoon to cheer on the Bulldog cheerleaders as they returned home as the newly crowned state champions in the Florida High School Athletic Association small coed division.

Click here to view a photo gallery.

When the final scores were tallied Crestview won easily with 411 points. Second place South Lake had 387 points, Centennial (361.5), Robinson (358) and Taravella (267).

The championship has been a progressive process for the squad.

“This was my third year, and we placed fifth my 10th-grade year, third last year and first this year,” senior

Brittany Garrett said. “We had a bunch of new faces (on the team) this year. We had a lot of new tumbling and a lot of new competitors.

“It was a different competition all together because we used to do medium varsity, so we moved up a level and now we are small coed.

“We performed a very extreme routine with a lot of tumbling and stunting we haven’t done. And it got us to a place where we wanted to be.”

The team moved to the coed division when the school's only male cheerleader, Manny Torres, joined the squad.

Team sponsor Lisa Kimbrough credited the team’s success to talent, good chemistry and long hours of hard work.

“This is a strong group and they have bonded,” she said. “Every single day they have been practicing. If there is not a basketball game to cheer at or a football game to cheer at they are in the multipurpose room or in the cheer room working for this.

“They have put in countless hours preparing for this weekend.”
Crestview principal Ed Coleman pointed out how difficult it is to win a state championship in any type of competition.

“Any time you can go off and win anything at a state level, it says a lot for the kids and their sponsors and their dedication,” he said. We are extremely proud of the girls, and Manny

“If you watched them on the telecast they had, they did an outstanding job. They barely missed anything and won by a large margin in their competition.”

Sophomore Courtney Adams is already thinking about what the championship will mean to the cheerleading squads in the years to come.

“It sets a high standard for what we need to accomplish and what we need to work on for future years to make us better as a squad,” she said.

Members of the cheerleading team are:Hayden Hritz, Megan King, Taylor Moore, Manny Torres, Jessie Durgan, Kayla Chenette, Bridget Worth, Ashlea Raybon, Nicole Lindon, Richaley Harrison, Elizabeth Bass, Tara Brady, Alex Berry, Haley Dukes, Courtney Adams, Savannah Myers, Mekala Viernes, Kayla Pigott, Kara Vonda, Jordan Brown and Brittany Garrett.