(Cover photo: Kerrick Elementary placed third in the elementary large division at the 2016 LIT Cheer Competition)
By Hope Eaton, KAPOS Board Member
Hosted at a packed Valley High School, the 2016 LIT Cheer Championship was held on Jan. 31 after being rescheduled due to weather.
The championship included elementary, middle and high school teams competing in small, medium, large and super large divisions. All teams for elementary and middle adhere to the KAPOS rules and all high school teams adhere to the KHSAA rules. The teams are judged on difficulty and execution. Any safety infractions are then deducted from the sub total.
After the group routines, those individual cheerleaders who signed up for the jump and tumble competitions performed.
This year’s championship included several state-placing cheer teams. Most of the top finishers were expected based on my previous experience of years of judging.
However, there were a few upsets.
In their first appearance at the LIT, Jeffersontown Elementary took home the prize in the small division. Greenwood Elementary took home the title in the medium division.
When Greathouse Elementary hit the floor, their fans rocked the arena. The team made sure you didn’t forget their name as they took home the trophy and banner in the both the large division and as grand champion for elementary.
State winner Farmer Elementary won the title for the super large division.
In the small, middle school division, Westport made a name for themselves by securing first place with only six team members. Their stunts had to be better and their routine stellar to get the top award in the division- a compliment to their performance.
State winner Eastside rocked the floor again today and took home another banner for the LIT title in the medium division. Lassiter won in the large division. State runner-up Crosby not only took home the super large title, but also grand champion for middle school and mega grand champion for having the overall highest score of the day.
State finisher Eastern won the LIT title for the small division as well as grand champion for high school.
Fern Creek upset Ballard in the medium division, and Fairdale beat out Moore and Central to take home the hardware in the large division. And lastly, Male took the title for super large after a powerful performance.
It was an awesome showing of the Louisville area talent. The competition concluded the LIT cheer and dance series for this year. The LIT committee hopes to see all of the teams back next year and also those that were unable to make it out due to the reschedule. Cheers!
RESULTS
Elementary Small
1st – J-Town
Elementary Medium
1st – Greenwood
2nd – Wilkerson
Elementary Large
1st – Greathouse
2nd – Stopher
3rd – Kerrick
4th – Slaughter
5th – Auburndale
Elementary Super Large
1st – Farmer
Middle Small
1st – Westport
2nd – Johnson
3rd – Western
Middle Medium
1st – Eastside
2nd – Noe
3rd – Ramsey
4th – Kammerer
5th – Moore
Middle Large
1st – Lassiter
Middle Super Large
1st – Crosby
2nd – Newburg
3rd – Farnsley
4th – JCMS
5th – Thomas Jefferson
High School Small
1st – Eastern
2nd – Seneca
High School Medium
1st – Fern Creek
2nd – Ballard
High School Large
1st – Fairdale
2nd – Moore
3rd – Central
High School Super Large
1st – Male
