How 2 Peoria-area squads fared at the IHSA competitive cheerleading state finals
The 2024 Illinois High School Association competitive cheerleading state finals were Feb. 2-3 at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.
Two teams from the Peoria area competed among the 100 teams spread across four competitions, with preliminaries on Friday and the finals on Saturday.
Here is a look at each team, including their path to state, full rosters, coaches and how they fared in the competition.
Washington
How they got here: The Panthers finished third in the medium team portion of the Knoxville Sectional, earning the program's 10th consecutive state finals appearance.
Cheerleaders: Front row, left to right — Maggie Lawson, Brooklyn Ulick (all-state by the IHSCCO); Middle row, left to right — Leyton Manley, Brynn Polston, Leah Oliphant, Brie Bright, Lauren Beuster, Chloe Martin, Erika Garcia. Back row, left to right — Brooklyn Schulte, Lauren Washburn, Jaidyn Erkman, Emma Eddy, Peyton Everett, Megan Bucher
Coaches: Mo Minehan
How they finished: The Panthers finished 11th in the medium team prelims, missing the finals by one place.
Knoxville
How they got here: The Blue Bullets finished fifth in the small team portion of the Knoxville Sectional last weekend.
Cheerleaders: Left to right: Kaleia Pulse, Lilly Eiker, Lillian Rogers, Rachael Tracy, Addison Anderson, Peyton Marvel (ICCA all-state), Sydney Smith, Hannah Marvel (ICCA all-state), Khloe Simpson, Brooke Howard, Savanna Haun, Amara Hathaway, and Raegan Brown.
Coaches: Head coach — Ashley Swank. Assistants — Alexis Batchelder and Maddy Putnam.
How they finished: The Blue Bullets finished 14th in the small team prelims, missing the finals by four places.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA competitive cheerleading state finals: Teams from the Peoria area
