L-I-B-E-R-T-Y rings through the stands as the Eagles step onto the mat. Everyone at St. Francis Borgia is on edge, hoping that the Eagles can gain a second consecutive varsity regional championship Oct. 26. Their wish will soon come true but not before the Eagles face six competitors.

In the end, the team’s top competition would be Francis Howell and Battle High School. The work would be tough, but in the end they would come out on top. The junior varsity team also had an impressive result by placing fourth in their respective competition.

“If you’re having fun with it, you will always hit, and that’s what makes a winning team,” Coach Hill said. And that’s exactly what they did.

This win did not come easily for the Eagles. They had to work four days of the week after school for multiple hours. And the practice started even before then.

“We had been working on the routine since the summer,” senior Leah Baalman said.

They practiced stunts, cheers, pyramids, tumbling, dances and jumps all in preparation for the big day.

“We played our competition music on the bus,” senior Sophie Sahrmann said. It helps some girls get their heads in the game.

All of this hard work gave them the edge at Borgia. At the end of the competition, the judges told the Liberty cheerleaders that their pyramid was of really high difficulty and high execution.

“We had been working on the routine since the summer,” Baalman said. “It was a close call.” They didn’t know the competition, so they outworked the competition.

After beating five other teams and earning all of these points for sophistication, the team brought home the first place plaque.

On Nov. 17, these amazing athletes will be headed to state to bring home another trophy. There will be a few changes in routines for this next competition, but core values still stay the same. Stunt groups will have their personal handshakes, and coach will have her inspiring pep talks and advice.

“A skill I instill in my athletes is not to crumble under the pressure, eat the pressure,” Hill said. “If you’re having fun with it, you will always hit.”

And that’s what makes a winning team.