The Lake Oconee Academy (LOA) Cheer Titans delivered two first place wins at the Union Grove Ultimate Grand Cheer Championship held on Saturday, Oct. 19. The LOA middle school team topped the small division, beating out seven other teams from the Atlanta area, while the high school team secured a solid 28-point lead over the second place team in the single A division.

Head coach Jennifer Blythe said both teams have been working tirelessly this season and have good reason to be proud.

 “This competition was held in McDonough, so the competition came from Atlanta area schools where the population and talent is typically greater than at smaller, rural competitions,” said Blythe.

The middle school team had its challenges going into the competition. An unexpected surgery for one of the cheerleaders meant the team was only able to perform with two of its three elite stunt groups.

“Middle school put an extremely difficult performance on the floor,” said Blythe. “To know our score was that strong with two stunt groups — I cannot wait to see the score with three.”

The varsity team had its own set of challenges going into this competition, as well. The team performed with a new flyer and an injured cheerleader.

 “The high school team overcame these obstacles and still scored significantly higher than the competition — a phenomenal achievement,” added Blythe.

With state sectionals just around the corner on Nov. 9, Blythe says the team will continue to put in the hard work.

“High school will see some awesome competition at sectionals, so my goal is to keep the girls from becoming complacent with what we have achieved thus far this season and keep pushing for bigger and better.”

Ultimately, says Blythe, it will come down to continued practice.  

“Each and every practice will be intense on details and consistency.  We need our girls to be confident in their skills and routine heading into the big competitions.”

The Cheer Titans’ next competition will be at Gatewood on Tuesday, Oct. 29.