The girls on the Northtown Varsity Hornet cheer squad take their cheering very seriously.

Whether they are at football games or volleyball games, these girls give it their all.

Sporting events are where they do most of their cheering, but this year, when summer became fall, the girls prepared for state competition.

State competition was Sunday, Oct. 2 in Columbia, Missouri and the cheerleaders worked hard to make sure they would do well.

“We had practice during Advisory and we practiced the day before state from 9 to 5,” said junior Hannah Pio.

The girls even used football games to get in some extra practice time.

Destiny Jones, one of the senior captains, said, “We actually did our practice routines during games to help us prepare.”

All the careful preparation has allowed the girls to be ready for state competition.

“The competition was nerve-wracking because there were a lot of schools, but it was fun,” said Pio.

The girls were hopeful going into State because of how well they did at Districts and Regionals.

“We placed fourth at Regionals, so we should do well at State,” senior captain Melaina Bixler said.

Even though the girls were confident about their chances, they knew that they’d have to work hard.

Bixler said, “This year was the hardest Districts we’ve been to, so we definitely didn’t take State lightly.”

State competition went very well for the girls. Competing against schools like Joplin and Oak Park, the girls placed seventh out of 23 teams in the state of Missouri.

Coach Banen Chaney said, “I am so proud of them. They were perfect.”