Hersey High School nabs state cheerleading title

Calm. Cool. Collected.

Not three words one might associate with athletes whose job title calls for revving up crowds.

But that’s what the Hersey High School cheerleading team was this weekend, before two performances in the Illinois High School Association’s championship tournament in Bloomington.

The Huskies’ focus led to the team’s first state title.

“They are a very calm, cool and collected team generally. They were very focused and pretty relaxed” before performing their three-minute routine, head coach William Hansen said. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to pack into those three minutes.”

That includes backflips, roundoffs, pyramids, basket tosses and more, while yelling out cheers. You can see the routine at the 20-minute mark of a video on YouTube.

The team from Arlington Heights received the highest score among the 25 in the coed category that performed Friday, nabbing them a spot in the finals Saturday.

In the final round, it scored 96.68 out of 100 possible points, edging out Elk Grove Bradley-Bourbonnais high schools. Those two tied for second with scores of 96.04.

Hansen said the team regrouped after losing to its fellow Township High School District 214 rivals, Elk Grove and Buffalo Grove high schools, at a conference meet earlier in the season.

“That lit a fire under them,” Hansen said.

The state competition also has three single-sex divisions based on school size.

In the 2A class, Grayslake Central High School placed second, Crystal Lake Central High School placed fifth and Burlington Central placed eighth.

In the 3A class, Schaumburg High School placed fourth.