This past weekend, the Lakewood Rangers cheer team traveled to Westlake High School for the CWC Conference cheer competition. The event was held in the main gym of Westlake High School on Saturday, Oct. 25. The competition gave teams the opportunity to showcase their football cheers as well as specialized and perfected choreography for the judges.
The event featured teams from Lakewood, Westlake, Bay Village, Rocky River, Valley Forge, and Normandy. From the start, the teams were energized and ready to compete. It was clear that every school came with the mindset of dominating the competition.
Lakewood’s fall cheer season started in May, when tryouts were held. The tryouts are early because the team splits its time between football, cheerleading, and the competition season. Summer is mainly spent learning how each girl works with others and finding their spot on the team.
Senior Anna Keane has cheered for Lakewood for four years. As of this year, she was named captain of the competition team. “We practiced two times a week during the season. Practices are normally two and a half to three hours long, and we split them up to practice new choreography and football cheers,” Keane said.
The girls are doing something most people can’t—splitting time between football and competition. This can be challenging for many, but based on the cheer team’s performance, it would be hard to tell that they have to split their attention between the two. Every part of their routine was precise and well-practiced, demonstrating that the girls can work hard and face challenges with confidence.
“I think we are very strong individually and as a team. We were in second place last year, but I think this year we have a real chance at taking home the first-place title,” Keane said. “We were all in the right headspace and had a real shot.”
Not only do the girls have confidence in themselves, but their family members do as well. Senior Claire Noelker’s grandma, Regina Martin, had plenty of encouraging words. She is as supportive as it gets, having watched Claire compete since she was four years old. Living in Chardon, a round-trip to competitions can take more than two hours, but Martin doesn’t care how long the drive is; she is there to support her family. “For whatever she’s involved in, I’m right next to her mother, cheering from the front row on the sidelines,” Martin said.
Lakewood’s team is like a family. Each girl bonds closely with the others, taking every chance they get to support and uplift each other. This bond is in part due to the excellent coaching of Head Coach Stephanie Ferrone.
Ferrone has been coaching Lakewood cheer for nearly 10 years. She spent two years coaching middle school cheer before moving up to the high school team. She is highly qualified, having won three national championships during her college career. In high school, she was part of the all-star team.
“The girls have done an incredible job taking our feedback and making changes, and just overall pivoting along. They are such a joy to coach and work with,” Ferrone said. She emphasized the importance of teamwork. “We had to change two formations on Monday, and you couldn’t even tell by the way the girls performed today,” Feronne said.
Overall, Lakewood placed third in the event. Westlake took first place, followed by Bay Village. Lakewood cheer will next be at Bowling Green State University on Nov. 22, with more events to come later in basketball season. The cheer competition was a huge success, marked by the immense support for the squad and the quality of their performance. Lakewood cheer is so special because of the bonds between team members, which enable them to work closely together and create excellent routines.
