Published Thursday, November 19, 2009

There's a sports dynasty at Northgate High School

Editorial

If you want to talk about a high school sports dynasty, in our community you can start with Northgate High School's Viking cheerleaders. During the past weekend the team won its third consecutive state cheerleading championship during competition at the Columbus Civic Center.

The Northgate team's three-peat is a first in the top Class AAAAA cheerleading, and next year the Vikings will go for four in a row. Four consecutive state cheerleading championships has been accomplished by two other schools in lower classifications.

Northgate cheerleading coach Sarah Frazier said the competition has never been tougher, but, "It felt right (Saturday) ... 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 warm-ups."

This third state championship is particularly deserving for the North Coweta school. It's a clear indication that the cheerleading team was committed to the hard work and long hours of practice that goes with producing champions.

Preparation goes back to the spring, when tryouts were held. The summer months were dominated by conditioning and continued with three-hour practice sessions since the beginning of school in August.

Is cheerleading a sport? You betcha. And this Northgate team can be proud of its accomplishments -- three consecutive state championships and counting.

Congratulations, champs.