Heritage cheerleaders focus on teamwork, mental toughness
A veteran squad added to the trophy case for the Heritage High School competition cheerleading team last season with another Region 6-AAAA title.
However, if the Navy-andred plan to add to its collection this fall, they will need some younger athletes to step to the forefront.
Of the 17 girls listed on the Heritage roster, 14 are either sophomores or freshmen, meaning head coach Meredith Burkett and assistant coach Katelyn Ellis will be leaning on the next generation of Heritage cheerleaders to help keep the tradition going.
“We’ve had kind of a slow start, but we’re finally showing some progress,” Burkett said last week. “We have a lot of difficulty in our routine and it’s just taken a lot of buildup to get to where we need to be. We have a lot of tumbling and that’s really one of our strengths. We definitely have a lot of difficult elements and we’re maxing out on most of our stuff.
“I would say the difficulty (in the routine) is about the same as last year, but we do have fewer girls on the floor this year. We competed with 16 last year and this year we’re only competing with 14.”
Heritage will take the mat on Saturday for the first competition of the season at Pepperell
Heritage 5, Gordon Lee 4
The week concluded with Jenna Ryans scoring the gamewinner for Heritage on a passed ball in the ninth inning as the Lady Generals outlasted the Lady Trojans in a Saturday morning matinee.
The game was tied 1-1 after seven innings and both teams would plate three runs and they will do so with just one senior on the floor, albeit a four-year veteran in Erin Justice.
“Erin is a really versatile part of our team,” Burkett explained. “She even flies in some parts (of the routine). She’s a really good tumbler and she has really good jumps. She leads by example and I’d say that’s one of her strengths. The other girls seem like they follow suit depending on how she’s practicing.”
But Justice will not have to shoulder the entire load when it comes to leadership as juniors Tayler Coleman and Maggie Wilcox have logged more than their share of mat time over the past two years.
“(Erin) is definitely going to have some help from our juniors,” Ellis added. “There’s some leaders there that are stepping in and helping her.”
The sophomore contingent includes Mckenna Bialecke,
in the eighth.
Young was 2-for-4 with two RBIS for Heritage. Alexis Faulkenberry added a double and knocked in two runs, while Carstens finished with two hits.
Edwards got the victory in an extended relief appearance. She pitched the final 7.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Both of the runs were unearned. Morrison pitched the first 1.2 innings Layla Brown, Payton Higdon, Abbey Mitchell, Kelsey Proctor, Abby Scott and Kaitlyn Sullivan, while freshmen Coley Bailey, Mia Caheely, Addison Henry, Kahlynn Holcomb, Allie Parker, Mady Raye Terry and Lyndsi Christian Wright round out this year’s squad.
While Heritage would love nothing more than to raise another region championship trophy, they also would love to improve upon their recent finishes in the state finals. The team placed seventh at state a year ago and Burkett believes the potential is there to finish even higher.
“I think the keys are teamwork and really just being mentally tough,” she added. “We’ve done well at regions, but I think the pressure at state kind of keeps us from finishing in the top three like we want. Our focus this year is being positive and being mentally tough for state.”
of the game. She allowed an earned run on three hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
Garrett pitched eight innings for the Lady Trojans. She allowed just two earned runs on nine hits, striking out three batters and not allowing a walk.
Chambers went 4-5 with an RBI, while Wagoner and Tankersley had two hits each. Helton and Mccullough both picked up RBIS.