Corner Canyon, Skyridge top inaugural 6A competitive cheer championships

OREM — As soon as Corner Canyon's competitive cheer team hit its first routine in the show category at the 6A state competitive cheer championships, head coach Whitney Lunt had a good feeling.

The Chargers were perfect in show, Lunt explained, meaning there was only one thing left to do: Have fun, and close out the win.

Corner Canyon finished off the "fun" meet and coasted to the inaugural 6A all-girls competitive cheer title Friday evening at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University. The Chargers brought home the first such title sanctioned by the Utah High School Activities Association in their classification.

"We knew that the hard part was over," Lunt told KSL.com. "That has all the skills and the crazy stuff; we were the only ones in our division that hit a perfect show routine.

"The rest was just fun. We have a really senior-heavy team. They're the ones in the circles motivating, giving reminders, and this has been four-years in the making. The senior class has been excellent, trusting us and buying into the program."

In many ways, Friday's championship was more than a year in the making after the UHSAA moved to sanction a number of new events in a whirlwind, Lunt added. The process were more like four years running, owed to a senior class that boasted 11 of the 19 spots in the Chargers' lineup preparing for this particular season.

Lunt relied on those seniors, especially captains Lauren Easton, Christine Schmidt, Olivia Sharp, Brook Barney, Jade Winkel and Avery Adamson, as well as junior captain Ashley Macievic, to help guide the team in a first-of-its-kind 6A state meet that wrapped up the state association's first foray into sanctioned competition.

"It's incredible," Lunt said. "We raised the bar a lot for our kids this year, and every expectation that we set, they went above and beyond it. They were excellent today, and they earned it."

Skyridge won the UHSAA's 6A co-ed title, while Salem Hills finished off the night as 5A all-girls champions two days after Crimson Cliffs won the 4A, 5A coed division to highlight the small-school classifications.

"Our goal was to attend state and deliver our best performances for the judges and let placements fall as they may. As coaches, we knew if they did their job well, they had a great chance to win but our focus with the athletes was to stay focused, stay positive, and take each routine element by element," Skyridge coach Gina Romney said. "They kept their heads down and did just that. When they looked up at the end of competition, there was a trophy with their name on it and we couldn't be more proud of them.

"Our kids are coachable, hard-working, and driven and their desire to do their best made all the difference."

For results from the 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A meets held earlier at UVU, click here.

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