Published Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Northgate's AAAA state title reign continues for third-straight year
The Newnan Times-Herald
The theme for this year's state-championship performance might have been "Magic," but hard work and perseverance have produced a cheerleading dynasty at Northgate High.
Out-distancing their closest competition by a whopping 17 points, Northgate dominated at this year's GHSA Class AAAA Championship held Saturday at the Columbus Civic Center, adding an unprecedented third-consecutive cheerleading championship in the classification, while now setting the bar even higher for 2010.
Coached by Sarah Frazier and choreographed by Happy Hooper, the program now has an opportunity to match a record fourth consecutive state cheerleading title set by a pair of GHSA programs.
No Class AAAA school, however, has accomplished the run Northgate has since finishing as a state runner-up in 2006. That group of then-freshmen have won every trophy in their path since. Along with six seniors, six juniors now carry the torch for the program after Saturday's state title, where as Region 5-AAAA champions Northgate finished well ahead of Ola, Woodland-Cartersville and Loganville.
It's never been tougher, though for Frazier and her girls to maintain their dominance. Preparation for this year's state championships began as early as last spring, shortly after tryouts that established Northgate's 20-girl squad.
This year's Northgate lineup includes seniors Heather Boone, Danielle Devereaux, Kayla Gardner, Jerica Pealor, Krystal Richards and Erin Zauner. Juniors include Ashley Beal, Paige Boose, Ashley Draughn, Lorrie Moen, Erin Tuck and Joni Wiggins. The Lady Vikings' six sophomores are Taylor Courson, Haley Fetherston, Kionna Hanson, Morgan Smith, Taylor Swinney and Carley Vanderwater. Freshmen Morgin Ward and Breanna Burns complete the 2009 championship squad.
After establishing the team's two-minute and 30 second routine and its theme, the summer months were dominated by conditioning and carried on through routine three-hour practice sessions since the beginning of the school.
"We feel like we have to up the ante every year," said Frazier, who just completed her seventh season as coach. "With this sport you go before judges which can be a blessing an a curse. They've come to have big expectations for us and the blessing is that it's pushed us to work harder. The curse is that every year I think they look for us to bring something different. We have an ongoing joke that we're eventually run out of stuff we can do with our flex pieces with the exception of having a girl pull her leg off and show it to them."
The cheerleading season is concentrated on just two meets -- region and state. The GHSA's eight region champions automatically advance to the state finals, while 24 remaining squads vie for eight remaining positions at sectionals.
Together, the two routines amount to just five minutes on the mats. But executing at the opportune time is a challenge in itself. Two days before this year's Region 5-AAAA meet at Mary Persons High, a starting squad member went down with an ankle injury, forcing the team to adjust.
"That's something these girls know and train for," said Frazier. "We can't let it be an excuse not to perform at our best."
Frazier, whose favorite thing is to put together the squad's stunts and pyramids, could not have asked for a more perfect performance on Saturday. The near-flawless routine featured a soundtrack that included Olivia Newton John's "Magic," Steve Miller Band's "Abracadabra" and The Police's "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic."
The aura might have felt all too perfectly.
"It just felt right (Saturday)," said Frazier of Saturday's championship atmosphere. "I talked with our seniors before we performed and we all said that there was just something in the air. It all came together during warmups."
And next year, Northgate's dynasty will look to put it all together again for consecutive state title No. 4.
On the net: You can watch Northgate's championship routine by logging on to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-g65OsfPTk
