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On October 18, the McLean varsity cheer team packed the Marshall gym to compete in the Liberty District finals competition.

The Langley cheer team won with a score of 212. In second place came Washington Liberty, then Herndon with a score of 200. With a score of 138, the Highlanders were able to secure fourth place, qualifying for District Finals.

“I think we could’ve done better but we tried our best and that’s what matters,” junior base Micheal Norton said.

The top four teams performed their routines twice, the second time being the District finals which determined the District winner before moving on to Regionals.

In each routine, there is a team chant section, and a music section which includes leaps, stunts, and pyramids.

“[In the first rundown of the routine], two of the pyramids dropped during the stunting section,” Norton said.

Despite minor setbacks with stunts, the McLean cheerleaders were proud of the outcome of their performance.

The Highlanders placed fourth in the district competition, allowing them to move on to the second routine of the night.

“The spirit we had was really solid and we tried to be as loud and enthusiastic as possible,” Norton said.

During the district semi final round, the team performed well, only missing one major stunt which they were able to recover well from moving on during the routine.

Along with their successful performance, some McLean cheerleaders were recipients of All-District distinctions, include Anna Ntep, Emory Conroy, Brooke Hawken, Addie Gevinson, Kayla Smith, Lauren Abba and Maia Le.

The team is going on to the Northern Region Semi Finals, and will compete at Centreville High School on October 29. Looking ahead to their next performance, the team is still working hard.

“[The] energy was already there, but [we] hope to bring it up to another level,” Belachini said.