On Feb. 3, the varsity cheerleading team won their first state championship since 2018 and their seventh overall state title. After a season filled with obstacles, they broke through the barrier at sectionals and hit their first zero deduction routine of the season.
“This win means everything to the team.” Bree Grady-Simpson, head coach, said. “They’ve worked so hard this entire season so to see all of that hard work and commitment and dedication to each other, [and to] end up with a state championship is everything they had hoped for.”
The win was very special for head coach Grady-Simpson as this was her first state championship as head coach.
“Having a state championship of a head coach is what everybody dreams about,” Grady-Simpson said. “Being able to do that with Lemont is even better. The support from the community, my athletes, their families and all of the administration here just makes it that much more worth it.”
The team achieved a score of 96.78 on the first day of the finals on Feb. 2, allowing them to move on to the second day. The team improved its score, receiving a 97.94. This is not only the highest score Lemont has ever achieved, but also the highest score ever recorded in the medium division. The team outscored second place team Burlington-Central (95.16) and third place team Crystal Lake Central (93.42).
Senior Fawne Ford was able to close out her career in the way she had hoped for the longest time.
“It really means a lot,” said Ford. “We’ve been fighting for a state title ever since I was a freshman… so it means a lot to us and the team, as well as the coaches.”
Junior Jordan Cryer and the juniors have another year of cheerleading, so there’s a possibility that they could win back-to-back.
“It means a lot, we have a lot of supporters and we had a ton of people come up to state to watch us, and that helped us out a lot, it gave us a lot of motivation, and it’s been our goal,” said Cryer.
Lemont Cheerleading is one of five programs to advance to the IHSA State Finals every year since the IHSA State Series began in 2006. They are joined by Conant, Lockport, Oak Forest and Sandburg.
