On Thursday morning November the 6th, the KHS cheer team took a trip to downtown Knoxville for their state championship that occurred at the convention center. The event consisted of many other top high school cheer teams from across the state to compete for the championship. The KHS cheerleaders, led by Dewanna Glover, had worked very hard all season long in order to reach that moment, which left them to be in the upcoming 3rd place out of all the other competing teams.
Dewanna Glover, who is the head coach of the KHS cheer team, has been cheer coaching for over 47 years here at Karns High School. She also plans special ed things and holds meetings to help them.
“I started cheering in 6th grade at KMS, but whenever I entered high school cheer, it brought another perspective to the table,” Kennedy Quisenberry said, “Cheering in middle school only allowed us to cheer at basketball games, but high school allows us to cheer at both football and basketball games.”
High school cheer can typically require more than Middle school cheer which would consist of more advanced stunts, cheering all year around, and competitive teams etc. Even though High school cheer can be a bit overwhelming, you can build bonds and friendships with your teammates as you all work together as a whole.
“State was definitely a fun experience, it was very exciting to watch all the other teams compete,” Alayna Owings said, “Seeing all the beaver fans get into our chants was amazing.”
Competing in competitions allows individuals to experience other teams compete and learn other techniques they may have not known before. They can also have the opportunity to learn how to improve their performance quality just by observing others’ choreography.
“My teammates hit everything perfectly, we are all very proud to have placed 3rd,” Nora Barnes said, “We all worked very hard as a team to get there.”
The KHS cheer team is very proud of what they’ve accomplished at the competition, from correcting a better performance to revising their stunts and tumbles. All season they have worked through long practices, and are hoping that they continue to work hard as a team so they can eventually get placed in 1st next season.
