With 12 members returning from a 2021 OSSAA State Cheerleading Championships qualifying cheer squad, Gore had high expectations this season.

The squad, comprised of 75 percent juniors or seniors, put in the time and work throughout the summer with its eyes set on competition.

“We worked hard all summer preparing for competitions in the fall,” Gore head coach Telitha McAlister said. “We had a few injuries that slowed our progress, but that didn’t keep us from continuing to work hard to reach our goal of competing at Regionals.”

At the OSSAA Regional Cheer Competition, the injury bug bit Gore very early on in its routine and the Pirates could not finish. 

Not all was lost. The squad was given an opportunity by the judges to return to the practice mat and rework the portion of the routine impacted by the injury. The squad then hit the competition mat with the re-worked routine. 

“We showed them exactly what Gore cheer is made of and how badly this team wanted to make it back to the state competition mat,” McAlister said.

The performance earned the squad one of 12 tickets to the small coed division of the state championship. 

“We had a very determined group this year,” McAlister said. “We are so proud of them for pushing through all the long hard practices, and especially for the way they handled the pressure of reworking a pyramid with so little time given during the competition.”

Competing in the 2022 OSSAA State Cheerleading Competition small coed division, Gore cheer did not perform as well as they would have liked but were grateful to be one of just 12 teams to reach that stage of the competition season. 

“We did not do as well as we had hoped at state but just to get to that point was a great accomplishment. Not all teams make it that far,” said McAlister. “So, as coaches, we were very proud of our team and their hard work.”

After competing at home and away football games, participating in fastpitch softball games, and balancing all of that with cheer practice and academics, as well as the Gore cheer squad, gave the town plenty to be proud of this year. 

Senior members of the squad are Isabel Fuentes, Kevin Hubler, Veronica Thomas, Honey McAlister, and Ella Magby. Juniors are Andi Summerlin, Paige Curran, Mara Peters, Oakley Thornton, and Natalie Casteel. Sophomores are Kenra Huckbay and Snowy Rich. Adrian Summerlin is a freshman.