Armuchee High School’s competition cheer team is coached by Kelli Stamey and Jennifer Dougherty, and they are focused on winning their state competition this year, which takes place on November 15. Stamey has led the team to four state championships, as well as four second place finishes since she started coaching in 1999. The team has won in 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2022. Last year, they placed second overall. Recently, they had a competition at Calhoun, placing first, and a competition at Model, placing second.
A cheer routine consists of a cheer, partner stunt, pyramid, standing and running tumbling, jumps, and dance. A partner stunt is where three girls, two bases and a backspot, hold up another girl, the flyer, while she does tricks and stretches in the air. A pyramid is where the girls perform skills while the flyers are connected by their hands. Jumps is exactly what it sounds like, the girls jump into the air and do toe touches, pikes, and hurdlers. Tumbling is a big part of a cheer routine, and every girl on the mat has it. 4 of the girls perform a full in
the routine, some of them doing multiple throughout all 2 minutes and 30 seconds. A full is a twisting layout, and the athlete completes the spin before she lands. Every year, there is a different theme for the routine, and the choreographer plans motions, dances, and music to go with it. The theme for the routine this year is airplanes. Briley Mullinax, sophomore, said, “My favorite part of the cheer routine this year is partner stunts because it is one of our strengths this year as a team and I love getting to work with an amazing stunt group.”
Most athletes on the team started at Hotshots Allstars, a cheer gym in Rome. Hotshots has teams and classes that a lot of the girls have been on before they started in school cheer. This has taught them technique and skills in both stunting and tumbling. Kenley Goetz, 7th grader, said “Hotshots has helped me improve both stunts and tumbling which overall helps my team.” Kenley has just completed her third year on the Armuchee Middle School cheer team, and she plans on joining the high school team when she’s old enough. She’s also a part of a team on Hotshots, and they continue to teach her new skills. Some girls also started in gymnastics at a gym called Rome Aerials, which taught them form for their tumbling skills.
The team will have 6 competitions this year, including the sectionals and state competitions. The state competition is the biggest competition of the year, and it is held in Macon. At state, there are many different teams and many different divisions. It is the last competition of the season and is what the team looks forward to each year. The winner of each division gets a ring. The sectional competition takes place in Vidalia. It is the second most important competition of the season, and the girls are very excited for it.
