Lakeland, Bartow cheer teams win state championships

Two Polk County schools won state titles in their respective divisions on Wednesday at the 2022 Florida High School Competitive Cheerleading State Championships in Gainesville.

Lakeland won its fourth consecutive state title in the Class 2A large non-tumbling division with a score of 88.80, beating out Mitchell (New Port Richey) by four points. Bartow won its ninth state championship in the Class 2A large-coed division with a score of 90.90, besting Clay (Green Cove Springs) by 6.20 points and Ridge Community (third place) by 6.15 points.

"We are super excited," eleventh-year Lakeland cheer coach Crystal Abdon said. "We had a very large group of seniors this year, combined with a large group of kids that have not cheered before. Kind of the challenge this year was to get everybody at the same level.

"It takes every single person doing their job and routine to make it happen. Really, the entire team has to do their part for it to be executed perfectly. If one person doesn't do their part, then that's when you fall or things happen that we would get deductions for."

Abdon said her squad learned from regionals — the Dreadnaughts placed second in regionals for the first time since 2015 — and focused on each sequence even more, as finishing less than first place on Jan. 15 was a huge letdown for the program.

Still, Lakeland put the second-place finish behind them and executed sequences and stunts perfectly earlier in the week. The Dreadnaughts scored a 9.8 out of 10 for the execution-technique — the highest the team has ever scored. Lakeland also tallied a score of 4.8 out of 5 for the stunt difficulty category — another team best.

A huge reason Lakeland was able to score so high was because of a weightlifting class taught by Lakeland football coach Connor Johnson. While the class was open for all girl athletes, most of the students who attended were from the cheer team. And it worked out as weightlifting five times a week built strength, which led to executing more difficult stunts in routines.

Bartow wins again

In Bartow coach Lori Jolliff's 18 years as a cheer coach, her team has won a state title half of the time. In the most recent state title, the Yellow Jackets produced the highest score (90.9) of any competition in both days.

"We're extremely proud on what the kids have accomplished," Jolliff said. "They also scored in the 90s. That was a goal we had set for ourselves was to get a score of 90 or higher."

Bartow's cheer team was able to create more pyramids, stunts and sequences to dominate the tournament, and this generation's cheer competition in the county and state. The Yellow Jackets scored a 9.5 out of 10 for the execution-technique. And Bartow also tallied a score of 4.7 out of 5 for stunt difficulty.

"When we started back in May with the team, we built a strong foundation," Jolliff said. "The kids are willing to work, and the community and their families are willing to support the kids, so it's a celebration for everyone at Bartow. It's not just about Bartow cheer, it's about the entire community of Bartow, whether it's Bartow basketball, Bartow softball, Bartow football. We are one town, one school and one family. ... It's a celebration for everyone."

It was also a celebration in live competition for Bartow. Jolliff said in warmups as well as in live competition, the Yellow Jackets exuded a euphoria and commitment to having fun, which helped the cheer squad members execute performances to a tee.

Both Lakeland and Bartow will be gearing up for the 2022 UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship 8 a.m. Feb. 11 at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Other Polk County cheer results

This is the first time in the history of Polk County competitive cheer that nine teams advanced to the finals. The following are the state results for the rest of the Polk County cheer teams.Auburndale High School was third in the Class 2A medium non-tumbling division with a score of 79.90, while Lake Gibson finished sixth in the same division with a 74.20.

Lakeland Christian cemented third place in the Class 2A small non-tumbling division with a score of 79.30.

Lake Wales was also third in the Class 1A medium non-tumbling division with a score of 77.10.

And Fort Meade High School was seventh in the Class 1A medium-non tumbling division with a score of 74.

George Jenkins placed eighth in the Class 2A small non-tumbling division with a score of 71.60.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: cheerleading, sports, Bartow, Lakeland, win, Polk County, Abdon