KANE — The fifth Cheer Games at the Den-Lorax Edition was held on Saturday at Kane Area High School.
The Dr. Seuss-themed event saw 11 different teams compete in various divisions throughout the day. Kane cheerleaders finished first in their division and second overall among the scholastic teams.
Meanwhile, the All Star Judges Choice award, along with the Spirit Award, went to the Sparks All Stars Youth team from St. Marys. The Scholastic Judges Choice Award went to Elk County Catholic (St. Mays) and the Scholastic Spirit Award went to Keystone High School.
The overall grand champion with the most points was won by Elk County Catholic High School. Nicole Brown from Kane also won the Senior Tumble Off and Kristen Zilkofski placed third in the Senior Tumble off.
“Even though this was a small event, we saw improvement from our last outing at IUP before Thanksgiving,” said Kane coach Chris Niklaus. “We picked up right where we left off last year and that is an encouraging thing to see with our team. Last season was an exceptional season and it would have been easy to come back this year and say we need to rebuild.
“There is no such thing as that in high school athletics,” Niklaus said. “We have different challenges and adaptations need made each season. This year is no different and the team will work through those challenges handed to us. I am super proud of the improvements they made over the last week and we will keep working hard to get better as the season goes on.”
