CTC cheerleading flying high after second-place finish in first-ever meet

(Marietta, Ga. – March 17, 2011) – In its first-ever competitive meet, the Chattahoochee Tech club cheerleading squad took second place in the Level 6 division at the Spirit Unlimited Competition in front of more than 1,500 onlookers. The meet, held on Saturday, March 12 at the Georgia State University Sports Arena, featured other age-17-and-older all-star teams from around Georgia in Level 6, the top age group at the event.
Over 35 teams from around the state competed across all six levels over the weekend.

The Golden Eagles put on a two-and-a-half-minute routine in one of the day’s last performances.

“It was really high energy pretty much the whole time,” said an elated head coach Audra Tillman. “Of course, for us, it was our first competition so we were just really, really excited. So when we went out on the court, I don’t think I really remember anything. I was just really excited to see everybody out there.”

For Tillman, the team’s outstanding first performance brings CTC cheerleading into a new era.

“We’ve been working on it ever since the football season started in August,” she said. “It was our goal last year to make a competition. So we’ve kept them preparing for it for the last four months.”

The Golden Eagles cheer program, which features 10 student-athletes — eight female and two male — on its competition squad, is in its third year of existence. On the sidelines at Golden Eagles men’s basketball games and club football games, the team features four or five additional members to its competition athletes.

What started out as a performing arts team under Tillman evolved into a cheerleading club featuring a small group of enthusiastic students. The squad then began cheering for a community football team, the Saints, which were coached by current CTC head football coach Tim Freeman, at their games at North Cobb High School.

The team, which practices every Monday and Wednesday at the Cheer Imperial All-Stars gym in Powder Springs, plans to compete next on April 30 at The Season’s Finale meet in Charleston, S.C.