PHOTOGRAPHED BY UNIVERSAL EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY
high school spirit Throughout northeast Mississippi, marching bands are ready, cheerleaders are poised and parades are about to begin. written by Melanie Crownover
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tudents and alumni across the area are ushering in the new school year with traditions and competitions that reflect pride in their schools and communities.
Go, Fight, Cheer Saltillo High School’s 30-member cheerleading squad faces a rebuilding year for 2017-18. All eight of the team’s male members graduated in May after another banner season; however, the competitive nature and skill of the upcoming squad should not be dismissed. “I love that we have athletes from all sports on our team – from football, tennis, track, archery – they know how to work for a tough win,” coach Stephanie Box said. “These students train for six to eight months, three to six hours a week on a two-and-a-half-minute routine that we can alter for the venue. They have the heart and drive to never give up.” The SHS squad won the first state championship for Saltillo in 2015. The same year, they also won their first of three successive bids to go to the National High School Cheerleading Championship at Universal Studios Florida. They placed fourth out of 22 teams in the nation last year, missing third place by mere tenths of a point and earning themselves a spot in the competition’s television broadcast on ESPN-U. “Cheer has brought my girls together, kind of like it has with part of our town,” booster club president and mother to three SHS cheerleaders Libba Priest said. “We had
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INVITATION TUPELO | August 2017
three competition cheer gyms here until recently. These kids start to tumble earlier and earlier, so the skill level keeps increasing.” The cheer team at Guntown Middle School, which prepares seventh- and eighthgraders for high school competition at Saltillo, went to nationals in both 2014 and 2015. According to Box, that initial training is why the backhand spring and tumbling pass that were
rarities when she joined the team nine years ago are now basic moves. “Once you get to a certain level of competition, you hold yourself to a certain standard,” she said. “This year is an unknown for us right now, but I do know these kids will push themselves and each other to be their very best. If they do that, there’s no limit to what they can accomplish.”