Daviess County cheerleading continued its dominant run in the region on Saturday, claiming its third straight regional championship with its Game Day routine.
The Lady Panthers finished with an overall score of 97.50, claiming first place by double figures. It was Owensboro that was the runner-up with an overall score of 86.90, while Allen County-Scottsville and Breckinridge County rounded out the scores with a respective 79.85 and 71.60.
Head Coach Kitty Jones was happy with the way Daviess County performed, coming into the competition and translating their hard work in practice onto the mat to come away victorious.
“I am very pleased with the team’s performance, they worked extremely hard the last two weeks without any days off,” Jones said. “Our expectations going in were to hit a clean and energetic routine with hopes to be a contender for another regional title.”
Jones said that their energy was electric and that they executed the routine well with sharpness, helping them grab their third straight regional title. Having lost a few key cheerleaders from last year’s team, Jones is proud of the effort put in to fill in those gaps and keep performing at such a high level.
“The three-peat to me as a coach means hard work and consistency, but to the girls it means they still have it after losing some key athletes along with heightened motivation to do better each time they step out onto the mat,” Jones said. “They set the bar for each other high and have learned to hold one another accountable in a respectable way which took some time.”
Jone said it was a true team effort to be the best team that they could possibly be this weekend, with their upperclassmen leading the way.
“I really cannot pinpoint anyone individually, as our goal recently has been to love and respect our teammates to work together focusing on everyone’s strengths rather than shortcomings,” Jones said. “If something does not work, they have learned to troubleshoot to make it successful. This was a process to get to this point, but once our 13 seniors bought in it changed the game.”
Jones is especially proud of the team for performing so well with such interesting choreography, as they brought a different approach to Game Day with a unique and fast routine. She gave credit to each one of her 34 athletes, as all of them stay ready to go in whatever role that’s needed with only 30 athletes allowed to compete at once.
Jones also said that they wouldn’t be able to be as successful as they are without her coaching staff and support system, with each and every coach using their strengths to help train the team while being rooted on by a whole community.
“My coaching staff is amazing,” Jones said. “Sally Ward is the bones behind the creativity in our routine. Tracy Gutsche also plays a huge role with the girls in the school throughout their day as she guides them through typical high school challenges. I am truly grateful for them and grateful for the support from not only our parents, but from the football coaches, soccer, teachers and administrators in the stands.”
While they were able to come away with some hardware, Jones and company know that they have some things that they could’ve done a little better. With a chance at a state title coming up, Jones said they will look to add onto their impressive performance by fine-tuning those things in practice.
