By Alison Echeverria-Soto ’26
On Feb. 15, 2025, Derby High School competition team went to their fourth competition before states on Mar.1, 2025. Placing 10th place. The competition was held in Crosby High School, with 17 cheerleading teams competing. Three of those teams were middle school teams, while 14 were high school teams. The routine consists of doing a cheer, stunting, jumps, and a dance in 2 and a half minutes. Making it stressful for some people but with the right mindset they are able to do it.
The competition started at 10 a.m. and ended at around 1:30 p.m. Derby competed near the end of the competition at 12:57 p.m. after Ansonia High School. Everyone was overwhelmed before they hit the mat, but knew they had to give it their all. Xa’riyah Mitchell ‘25 explained, “I felt overwhelmed and pretty scared as well, I had a lot of butterflies in my stomach, but once I got on the mat I was confident.” Trying their best and not giving up, the team gave it their all.
The competition team had very positive attitudes and wished everyone the best, showing no negativity. Parents were loud and proud for all the girls, hyping them up. Even though they didn’t reach the top five, the team still had positive attitudes towards everyone. The competition ended with Ansonia High School receiving third place, Oxford High School in second place, and Wolcott High School winning first place.
Only having 5 competitions before states, the team has gotten ready since September by working on their routine.The last time Derby competed was in 2022. Losing all their cheerleaders who competed/didn’t want to compete anymore Having to start from the bottom rebuilding their way back up. To become the legacies they once were.
The team has one more competition before states. Hoping to place higher but gladly they have already made it to states. They would have to make it to top three to go to Regionals and place top six to become team of the year.
The Raider Press 