The Lakeland cheer team packed up at 5 a.m. for a 10-hour drive to compete in the River Rampage Competition at Burley High School on Nov. 17.
The competition started at 7 a.m., preforming their show routine for their first performance.
In the 4A show category, the team took third place against Jerome High School and Skyline High School.
“I think we could have used more practice, a lot of people were stressed, and it made it a little harder to focus on the routines,” Lizzy Duce said.
In the 4A sideline category, the cheer team took second against Twin Falls High School, Jerome Hhigh School, Skyline HIgh School and Wood River High School.
“Sideline was good, my stunts hit even though at practice they were falling, so my group was happy,” Duce said.
The cheer team did better than expected, even though most teams that the LHS cheer team went against had been perfecting the routines for months, and the team had only learned their routines two weeks before the competition.
“We had some injuries and people that would not be able to compete leading up to the competition, so I think we would have been more prepared if we did not have to change the routines as much,” Annalie Terzulli said.
The LHS cheer team was the only team from North Idaho at the competition.
“It’s not new to be the only northern team, but it makes competition harder since the cheer teams in southern Idaho are really good,” Duce said.
The cheer team has gone to Burley High School for the River Rampage Competition for the last three years, each year the team gets more feedback and experience to improve their routines.
The cheer team’s next competition is on Jan. 6 at Lakeland High School.