Two cheerleading teams from Columbus will compete in The Summit-All Star Cheerleading Championship, an elite national competition, Friday in Orlando, Florida.
The event will take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Both of the competitive cheer teams from Columbus are members of GameTime Athletics, which is on Highway 45 North.
The teams are Senior Fire, which includes 15 members, and Senior Metal, which has 16 members. Both teams are made up of 11-to-18-year-olds.
Each qualified for The Summit-All Star Cheerleading Championship after competing earlier this month at the Deep South Beach Nationals in Orange Beach, Alabama. Both teams took first in their divisions, according to Stevan Black, the owner of GameTime.
Black said this is the first time a Golden Triangle-area team has qualified for the competition in Orlando.
Facing the ‘best of the best’
Black said GameTime, which is on Highway 45 North, has four teams — two youth teams and two senior teams, which range in ages from 11 to 18.
The gym also has about 60 participants in its All-Star Program and 30 in its Recreational Program. The gym serves local cheerleading teams schools that come there for instruction, and they focus on tumbling, which is not widely available elsewhere, said Black.
“Our goal is to provide teams with the training to compete on a national level,” Black, who has owned GameTime for four months, said.
The participants are coached by head coach Adam Davis — a former cheerleader at the University of Alabama — and assistant coach, Katie Hayes.
Davis said it’s taken a lot of “hard work and dedication to a perfect performance” for Senior Fire and Senior Metal to make it to this level of competition.
“Our all star teams have been practicing all of their lives for this very moment. Some have trained for six years to achieve the skills that they will perform on the stage in Orlando,” Davis said. “The level of competition we chose to compete against has exposed our athletes to the best of the best athletes in the world.”
Davis said he’s particularly proud of the groups’ tumbling skills and hopes to show them off at the competition.
“We pride ourselves in our tumbling technique,” he said. “Our athletes work hard to achieve their skills. Some of these athletes are in the gym every day getting better for their team.”
Davis said he sees his program as a learning device for the teens and young adults.
“The athletes learn so much from this program,” Davis said. “Other than the fun they have, they learn to never give up on themselves or their team. They learn to deal with pressure in adverse situations. They have learned respect for their bodies and time management.”
Broadcast
Senior Fire performs Friday at 3:37 p.m. CST. Senior Metal performs at 4:46 CST. Later competition times have not yet been determined.
The event will be livestreamed at varsityallstar.com/the-summit. ESPN will air the event after the competition, but has not confirmed when, Black said.
Senior Metal competitors include the following: Lilly Black, of West Point; Anna Kate Bowen, of Caledonia; Cassidy Brown, of Caledonia; Carlee Dudley, of New Hope; Payton Gregg, of Starkville; Cole Hollis, of New Hope; Carley Hurst, of Caledonia; Clara Hurst, of Caledonia; Taylor Johnson, of New Hope; Melanie Moore, of Caledonia; Lexie Morrison, New Hope; Sara Claire Nash, of West Point; Rhett Evans, of Columbus; Stanley Cooper, of Caledonia; Blake Wheeler, of Aberdeen; and Kate Wheeler, of Aberdeen.
Senior Fire competitors include the following: Madison Atkins, of Columbus; Bryan Rivers, of West Point; Bryan Sims, of West Point; Hunter Coleman, of New Hope; Maci Coleman, of New Hope; Isabel Facella, of West Point; Payton Gregg, of Starkville; Camden Hurst, of Caledonia; Clara Hurst, of Caledonia; Taylor Johnson, of New Hope; Chris Levister, of Caledonia; Elayna McKee, of Caledonia; Ragan Robinson, of Caledonia; Cooper Stanley, of Caledonia; and Colby Stuart, of New Hope.
Sam Luvisi is news editor and covers education for The Dispatch.
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