State champs! Highland coed cheer team heads to Bloomington, returns home with title

Domination is the only word that can be used to describe the Highland High School coed cheer team’s latest competition performances at the IHSA State Finals on Friday, Feb. 4, and Saturday, Feb. 5, in Bloomington.

This team earned their spot to compete at the IHSA State Finals by winning their sectional and it continued on as they competed Friday with a solid routine to be in the top 10 teams to advance to the state finals. The Highland Bulldogs dominated and dazzled the judges with their exceptional performance Saturday afternoon with a score of 97.17.

This was the highest score of the entire day in all divisions. Their impeccable performance earned the Bulldogs the IHSA Coed State Title and Championship. To say it was a great day to be a Highland Bulldog was an understatement.

Congratulations to this group of athletes — coached by Angie Fears and Tess Chlibec — that brought the cheer title home to Highland.

Team members include seniors Mya Iberg, Allison Reiling, Brittani Wellen, Rhea Fowler, Kady Shaw and Morgan Flesch; juniors Carolynn Parsons, Avery Miles, Morgan Friesner, Kyleigh Buchen and Riley Mansholt; sophomores Sophis Thomas, Ava Allen, Kara Shaw, Lexie Fears, Chloe McTeer, Ava Lercher; and freshmen Collin Heldenbrand, Meagan Wieseman, Avery Starwalt, Rylee Thole, Emma Ethridge and Cole Parsons.

This story was originally published February 6, 2022 at 3:39 PM.