BHS Cheerleaders Know How to “Sweep” a Competition

Kimmie Barnes
Editor-in Chief
  “B-O-N-N-E-V-I-L-L-E Bonneville Bees!” is shouted from the mouths of one of Bonneville High School’s biggest support groups: the cheerleaders. They are seen cheering on their fellow athletes on the field at football games and on the sidelines at basketball games, but the cheer squad also shows their skills at their own competitions. The Bonneville High School cheer team is a powerhouse. Having won three virtually back to back state champion titles (one year interrupted by Covid-19), they take competition head on. The months of January and February are busy for the cheerleaders with basketball games, the Sweethearts dance, and competitions virtually every weekend. On Saturday, January 7, 2023, the team competed in the Upper Valley Classic at Madison High School. This competition is for both dance and cheer. Teams all the way from Minico to Sugar Salem come to compete. This year, around 12 teams participated in the high school cheer portion. 
  The competition consists of performances in various categories: show, sideline, pom, and stunt. Each category has specifications and rules for the performances. For example, pom routines have a time limit of one minute, must focus on choreography and transitions, cannot include stunts, tosses, airborne tumbling, or props, and the whole routine is required to be set to music. Contrary to a pom routine, a sideline cheer is centered around crowd involvement, similar to what is performed at football and basketball games, must include at least one continuous two-jump series done by the team in unison, cannot include music, and typically includes props such as banners, poms, signs, and megaphones. As Bonneville performed their show and sideline routines, onlookers commented on their precision, energy, and confidence. One woman even stated that they look like they are having fun on the mat. The audience was evidently not the only ones with the same sentiments; the judges did too. The BHS cheer team placed first in pom, sideline, coed show, coed stunt group, and all girl stunt group, taking the victory in all divisions of the competition they competed in! This is popularly referred to as having “swept” the competition.  
  In an interview with senior Gracie Johnson, she discusses competition season as a Bonneville cheerleader. Johnson’s favorite part of competition season is the adrenaline that comes with competing saying, “It’s the best feeling when you’ve been working super hard and it pays off during awards.” Being back to back state champions, Johnson commented that her least favorite part of the competition season is the stress. Adding, “It’s very stressful trying to uphold the state champs title when everyone is trying to beat you.” 
  As the busy competition season continues, the team will perform at districts and likely state. The squad also qualified to compete at Nationals this year, which is a competition against teams across the country. This season has been an exciting one, and the BHS cheer team has proven time and time again that they know how to showcase their skills and “sweep” the competition.