On to Orlando

PENDLETON — They were shocked.
Legimately shocked.
When the Patriots gathered on the corner of the blue mat at Pendleton Heights High School for the results of the Hoosier Championship to be announced, they did so without expectation.
Their routine had not met their high standards. They did not believe it would get them a national berth.
They were wrong.
Jay County’s cheerleaders earned a bid to the Universal Cheerleaders Association National High School Cheerleading Championship at Sunday’s event in which they finished second behind Whiteland in the medium varsity division.
The squad’s lone senior explained the surprise.
"I didn’t really know what to expect," said Alexus Liette, who along with the rest of the Patriots will now get to compete in the national championship Feb. 11 and 12 in Orlando, Florida. "It’s a different atmosphere than what we’re used to.
"It’s exciting because we’ve never been there. It’ll be something we’ve never experienced."
Lake Central, Fishers and Cathedral earned national bids in the large varsity division, and Silver Creek and Floyd Central advanced in super varsity.
"It felt amazing that our hard work paid off," added Mikale Knight, who was celebrating her birthday Sunday.
Universal Cheerleaders Association offers some flexibility. If a squad falls short of the cut score — 70 points — it can still be awarded a berth if it shows potential to be a strong performer on the big stage.
The Patriots didn’t need that caveat.
They cleared the threshold, posting a score of 70.35.
Jay County had put a focus on making tumbling it’s standout skill, and that paid off in a big way as its best scores came in that category. It picked up 4.4 out of a possible five points for both the standing tumbling — toe touch jumps into back tucks — at the beginning of the routine and running tumbling, which closes with juniors Courtney Miles and Breea Liette hitting side by side full twists.
The Patriots added matching scores of 4.2 for dance and overall (creativity, use of formations, transitions) and a 4.0 for jumps, giving them 21.2 out of 25 points overall (84.8 percent) on that scoresheet.
"Our opening looked great," said JCHS coach Abby Champ. "I was really happy with that.
"Long tumbling was the best I’ve ever seen it. It looked beautiful. Timing was great, confidence in it, it just flowed really well."
The tumbling strength helped overcome some other issues.
While the Patriots’ first stunt hit, two of their four stunt groups fell on the second. A third went down later in the routine.
Those falls accounted for most of the squad’s 6.25 points in deductions, which brought their score down from the 76.6 awarded by the judges.
"We need to work on our stunts and making sure that they’re clean and they hit," said junior Sydnee Lee.
"You have to think quickly and adjust to what’s happening," added Liette, noting the need to build some mental toughness in preparation for nationals. "You have to fight for it. You can’t just let it fall … You have to keep it in the air no matter what."
Jay County also had to keep its composure Sunday when freshman Renee Omstead dislocated her right shoulder while coming down from a stunt. She stayed on the mat, managed to pop her shoulder into its socket and even went back up in the air late in the routine.
"As long as she just steps to the back of the mat, the rest of the routine can go on," said Champ. "And she did that. She persevered and finished the routine."
JCHS ended up earning at least 7.5 points in each of the stunt/pyramid categories, getting a compliment from the judge for finishing strong. It totaled 30.5 out of a possible 40 (76.3 percent).
The Patriots totaled 24.9 out of a possible 40 (71.1 percent) on the cheer scoresheet.
The coaching staff agreed that there is a lot to improve upon over the next two and a half months. Such effort has paid off thus far, as Jay County is headed to nationals for the first time since 1989.
"I think it’s huge," said Champ "All the things that we’ve done just show how versatile our program  is, how if the girls want to do something, we just say, 'OK, we’re going to do it.' It shows they’re strong, they’re dedicated, they’re athletic. They’re willing to do the extra to get what they want."