The Warriors Cheer Team won first place at the 2025 UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship in Orlando, Florida.

“We managed to get first in all rounds,” Cheer Coach Erica Hodges said. “Maintaining that status is a very, very hard thing to do, but we are back-to-back national champions now.”

The team went through intense, heavy preparation for their national competition.  

“Honestly, a lot of practice,” Hodges said. “Even though it’s game day, some teams don’t really do that on their sidelines, and so that’s something that’s a little bit different for us because of these game day competitions.”

In order to get the feel of game days, the team simulates their drill  to make their performance as real as possible.

“We really do try to implement everything we do at those competitions in our sideline routines on the field, whether it’s basketball or football, so everything is just really in context of what we truly do,” Coach Hodges said. “I think it makes it a lot more authentic.”

One of the key factors Coach Hodges believes was the key factor to their journey to number one in the nation was their chemistry. 

“It’s something that I haven’t personally done,” Coach Hodges said. “I just truly think it’s our girls and how special they are. They truly are friends. They truly do respect each other. I think one of the main things maybe even if they aren’t the best of friends at all times, because, you know, they’re humans is that they just genuinely love our sport, believe in our sport and they want us to succeed at it and they know that comes from them working together.”