Lumberton cheerleaders look to take over nationals

LUMBERTON, Texas — The Lumberton Cheerleaders are two-time state champions but they say that's not good enough.

“We’re coming back with a fight. A big fight," said sophomore cheerleader Keatyn Young. "We want first this year. Big time.”

After placing third last year at nationals the raiders are back and won’t settle for anything but first.

“After such a big win like this we always look back and see where we can improve and what things that we can do," said senior cheerleader Emily Guillory. "Especially since we’re headed to nationals next month, we’re looking forward to all the improvements we can make and bring the best routine at nationals.”

Every day these girls are hitting the mat pushing themselves and each other to get into first place mentality.

“We come to practice with the right mindset. We keep encouraging each other because it’s another month after winning state. We need to keep up that energy so we just come to practice every day looking for those white jackets and winning nationals.”

If there’s one thing Lumberton Cheer wants the judges to see, it’s their passion for the sport. They say that's what will drive them to the top.

“Every year the judges always say we look like we love cheerleading and we do," said Guillory. "That’s one thing that Lumberton high school has always done is we genuinely love cheerleading and we genuinely love the things we do on the mat. When we go on the mat we put it all there.”

The Raiders say their road to nationals isn’t just for the team but for the whole Lumberton community.

“I’m not doing this just for myself or just for my team. I’m doing this to set a positive example in my community," said senior cheerleader Amber Withers. "All the little girls that look up to you and say ‘Oh I wanna be there one day.’ We’re setting this place for them to have somewhere to go and say ‘That’s my community.’ That they can be proud of.”

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