West Lauderdale cheer captures seventh place at UCA Nationals

Published 11:00 pm Monday, February 12, 2018

Laura Posey of East Mississippi Cheer has worked with the West Lauderdale cheerleading team since 2005.

So when she says this may have been the school’s most talented team she’s ever worked with at West Lauderdale, it’s difficult not to be impressed. 

The Lady Knights captured the No. 7 spot in the Small Varsity Division II competition Sunday evening at the Universal Cheerleaders Association’s national competition at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla. It was West Lauderdale’s second year in a row to come in seventh, and Posey said the girls were just one mistake away from a top-three finish.

“This team was the program’s fourth visit (to UCA Nationals); however, this group of girls brought more talent and athleticism all around (to the meet),” Posey said. “They’re just a special group. They have a skill level that we’ve never had in this area, from stunting, tumbling and jumps. All throughout the season, they did devotionals each week and really bonded, both through the Lord and through team unity. It brought them together to where it was more than just being a school team that comes to practice each week.”

Sara Freeman is the head cheer coach at West Lauderdale, and she said watching the joy in her girls’ faces following Sunday night’s competition was incredibly rewarding.

“These girls have worked so hard throughout this year,” Freeman said. “To see them come off the mat crying from excitement and happiness, it’s truly an amazing experience as a coach. It makes everything worth it to see them have that feeling of joy and accomplishment over doing what they set out to do.”

West Lauderdale placed ninth in 2016 and 10th in 2014 at UCA Nationals. As one of three teams chosen to advance straight to the finals from the preliminary competition, the Lady Knights competed against 14 teams in the final round in what Posey called the toughest category at the UCA event.

“The final event was held in the most prestigious arena, and the owner of UCA Varsity and the president of Varsity brands was at that event,” Posey explained. “Several college coaches from some of the top programs were watching the teams. In general, I don’t think people realize they were truly up against the best of the best at the competition. Being in Division II means they were competing against schools with up to 1,200 students from all over the United States. 

“This team, while we placed seventh out of 46, it had the potential to be a top-three team without one mistake. We made one mistake that kept them from being in the top three. That’s just how great a team these girls were. Seventh is a huge honor, and I don’t think people recognize that because of all the state titles they’ve won. The talent on the floor was comparable to the top three teams.”

West Lauderdale currently has five state championships in a row to its name in cheer in addition to the success the school has seen at UCA Nationals in recent years. It’s all a testament to the girls’ dedication to the sport, Freeman said, and she cited Bible verse Ezra 10:4 as a motivational tool: “Rise up… take courage and do it.”

“I’m blessed with girls who want to work hard and are willing to put in the time and make the necessary sacrifices it takes to be great,” she said. “They understand the importance of team working and coming into practice ready to get better. Every coaching position has its moments, but at the end of the day or the end of a routine like we just had, it’s all worth it, and I love coaching my girls.”