Waking up at 6 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 30, the Francis Howell North ice hockey cheerleaders started to get ready for their first competition held at Fort Zumwalt East. Going into the competition the girls felt very strong in their performance since they had practiced many weeks in advance. They even had a slumber party together the night before for a night of team bonding.

“We were really excited about going in as the underdog and starting up so late in the season and showing everyone that we were better than they expected,” sophomore Jessie Stein said.

After arriving at Fort Zumwalt East at 8 a.m., the hockey cheerleaders stayed together to go over their routine and practice as a group. Some of the cheerleaders had yet to attend a cheer competition so this was their first.

“It was great to be able to finally see all of our hard work finally paying off,” junior Chelsea Horton said.

After all of the other schools had performed in front of the judges, places were announced. In North’s category, our cheerleaders took second place out of five.

By Amanda Meyer