As the cheerleaders landed their final stunt, they erupted in hugs and cheers. Even though the winners hadn’t been announced yet, they had a feeling that they just won State.

And they were right.

On Oct. 31, 2017, the cheerleaders earned first place at State, making MHS history as it was the first time they won State undisputed. The cheerleaders hope to obtain similar success in Florida when they take on nationals on Feb. 10.

Ali Hart, sophomore, is excited to experience Nationals for her first time.

“We’ve been pushing each other really, really hard and we’ve been pushing each other to do our best,” Hart said.

Hart is most excited to see all their hard work finally pay off this weekend. She said the cheerleaders have been working very hard on this routine, practicing everyday after school and in the mornings on weekends.

“We just keep improving it to make it better and if something’s not working, we find a solution to make it better,” Hart said.

Sarah Zenthoefer, varsity cheerleading coach, said she thinks the cheerleaders are prepared for Nationals.

“We’ve been working really hard and we’ve had some strong practices,” Zenthoefer said. “As with most sports there are a lot of ups and downs, but we’ve progressed really far and we are really happy with where we are right now.”

Unfortunately, the cancellation of all afterschool activities on Monday proved to be difficult for the cheerleaders as there were only a certain amount of days left until Nationals.

“We were really excited about having that practice and keeping our progression going,” Zenthoefer said. “Then we lost the practice on Monday and that sends a lot of stress to the team.”

Despite the loss of practice, Zenthoefer said they are ready for Nationals with their current routine.

“At nationals, they want to have more bells and whistles and a higher level of difficulty, so it’s different [from state], but I feel like we are in a good place right now,” Zenthoefer said.

Hayley Fenton, senior, said she is also very nervous in regards to their performance but believes they will do well.

“If we hit everything then I think we will do well,” Fenton said.

She also hopes their positive attitude from State will carry over to Nationals and aide them in success.

“I think we are trying to stay positive by saying ‘we are state champions and we can do this,’ so I hope we can,” Fenton said.