Clarke cheerleaders win state title

DES MOINES — The Clarke cheerleaders, coached by Jennifer Pollard, won a Class 2A state championship here Saturday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

The Indian cheer squad won the timeout cheer division state title, marking the first time it has ever brought home a trophy from the state competition.

In the timeout cheer division, teams must cheer from a 30-feet by 42-feet competition mat and are given one minute to perform their routine.

Teams are judged on the following criteria: effective entrance that immediately involves the crowd with a clean exit upon completion; potential for crowd response, practical/effective material, easy for crowd to follow and participate; correct motion technique and synchronization; use of props enhances crowd response; genuine spirit, confidence, eye contact, natural smiles, creativity; good volume, spirited, encouraging, natural sounding; effective formations, spacing between squad members to cover crowd, seamless transitions and overall execution and effective use of timeout period.

Teams in Class 2A are permitted to have up to 12 members.

Members of the Clarke team are Katie VanGundy, Joni Burris, Sofia Contreras, Carter Cooley, Kelsie Grimm, Mackenzee Erlewine, Samantha Stickels, Jordan Heath, Katie Carney, Lyndsey Jackson and Shelby Heston.

Three members of the Clarke team will perform on the All-Star Cheer Squad, which is made up of 200 cheerleaders from around Iowa. That group performs at halftime of the Class 1A and Class 2A state championship football games at the UNI Dome on Nov. 21.

Participating on the All-Star Cheer Squad from Clarke are Stickels, VanGundy and Jackson.