Grayslake Central Varsity Cheer 2023-2024

After a devastating 7th place finish at the 2023 IHSA Sectionals, this episode tells the story of the 2023-2024 Grayslake Central Varsity Cheer (GCVC) team’s year long journey to make is back to the State Finals

The athletes of GCVC spent months training in and out of the gym. From stunt training to weight lifting, this team focused on the fundamentals, being unified, and holding themselves and each other to their own standard — being better than they were yesterday.

Their months of hard work prepared them for success. Finishing the regular season with a high score of 94.08, placing 1st at 5 of 6 competitions and winning the Northern Lake County Conference Championship, GCVC was ready for Sectionals. But the journey back to the State Series would not be an easy one. Between the pressure, nerves and some unforeseen circumstances, the Rams had their toughest performance of the season at arguably the worst time. A 4th place finish was far from their anticipated placement but the Rams celebrated their ticket to compete at State!

With only 3 athletes that had ever competed at the State Series, the Ramily was determined to finish the 2024 season at the IHSA State Finals. This team, did just that! GCVC had an unbelievable performance in the State prelims, hitting the routine deduction-free. The Rams were headed back to the State Finals! GCVC hit another deduction-free routine to finish the season 5th in the State. This team became 1 of only 4 cheerleading teams in the history of Grayslake Central to place top 5 at the State Series.

 

A grueling 8 month season all comes down to 1 routine, 52 8 counts, 2 minutes and 49 seconds but the moments, the memories, the bond of this team will last a lifetime.