Hartfield Cheer and Dance Win at 2022 MAIS Spirit Competitions

9/27/2023

Hartfield Academy's Varsity Dance Team, JV Hawkette Dance Team as well as the Varsity Cheer Squad won State Championship titles at the 2023 MAIS Spirit Competition! After much hard work and determination, our cheer and dance teams have achieved a well-deserved honor.

Varsity Dance won 1st Place in Medium Varsity Pom (2nd year in a row) & 1st Place in Medium Varsity Kick.
The JV Dance Team won 1st place in the JV Small Kick Division & 1st place in the JV Small Pom Division.
The Varsity Cheer Team won 1st in Medium Varsity Tumbling Champions and Medium Varsity Gameday Runner-up (by 1/10th of a point!)
The JV Cheer Team won 1st in Large Division Tumbling & GameDay

These state titles require hard work and determination and this year that hard work paid off! We asked our coaches a few questions. Hear from each coach below!

The Varsity Dance Team is coached by Addison Smith. Here is what she had to say about the special day!

What was your favorite thing about competition day?

My favorite part about competition day was after each performance the girls ran off and were so excited. I loved getting to celebrate with them because they knew they did so well and were so confident in their performances. As a coach, that is all that I could have asked for is for them to go out and do their absolute best!!! I also love being backstage in the warmup area with them. Yes, there are some nerves but at that point, they are just so excited to finally get to go out there and show off their routines to everyone!

What was the feeling like hearing Hartfield's name receive the title?

I knew my girls performed their routines perfectly and they were absolutely amazing but you always have nerves leading up to awards. Once I didn't hear our name for 3rd or 2nd, I couldn't stop smiling. Hearing them say Hartfield Academy is like a rush of emotions. To win a double title is a huge deal for our school and for the dance program, it doesn't happen a lot. My favorite part was finally getting to hug those girls, cry happy tears with them, and celebrate because they just accomplished something BIG & they worked so hard for it!!! I couldn't be more proud to be their coach!!

Addison went on to say.. “I want to recognize my 3 seniors for also being selected as All-Star Dancers; Jenna Claire Davis, Addison Nash, and Aniston Thompson. I also want to thank all the students and supporters who came out to help us Go For The Gold! Walking out onto the floor and seeing the huge crowd of gold in the stands was amazing. It truly made me smile and gave the girls another push of excitement to perform their routines.”

The Varsity Cheer Team is coached by Jodi Gentry. She also had some fun things to say about the day!

What was your favorite thing about competition day?

Competition day was amazing! I loved walking out on the floor and looking up to see our amazing school covered in gold cheering us on and then watching my team shine on that mat! We all knew it was our best performance and we all jumped up and down and hugged each other. It was surreal!

What was the feeling like hearing Hartfield's name receive the title?

Hearing Hartfield Varsity Cheer called out as State Champions for the first time in my career here was unbelievable! Blood, sweat, tears, 6ams and many many hours of dedication to this sport and school had paid off, and I cried tears of joy!

Jodi went on to give a special shoutout to her seniors.. “I am so thankful for this team and especially my seniors! They led our team so well and had a desire to win like nothing I have ever seen. I am so proud of them and happy they get to go out on top. They helped change Hartfield Varsity cheer forever!”

The JV Cheer Team is coached by Kaye Donald. Let’s hear her thoughts from the day!

What was your favorite thing about competition day?

My favorite thing about competition day is seeing all of the blood, sweat, and tears pay off when the girls work together as a team and HIT their routines!

What was the feeling like hearing Hartfield's name receive the title?

Our goal was to win one title! We felt confident in the tumbling division once we hit our routine! We also hit our Gameday routine, but we had some really good competition that also did well! We were honored to hear our name called as winners in both divisions! We were happy that the judges enjoyed our routines and rewarded our hard work!

Kaye went on to acknowledge her team’s hard work leading up to the competition.. “I am so proud of these girls! We had 16 brand-new JV cheerleaders this year. They have been practicing 3 days a week since January! We had two 6 a.m. practices a week once school started to accommodate the other sports these girls play. They never complained! They showed up ready to work and their hard work paid off! But, they are not finished yet! We look forward to competing in the UCA Magnolia competition in December and at NCA Nationals in January. The work is worth it!!”

The JV Dance Team is coached by Chelsea Adams. She is so proud of her team! Hear what she has to say below.

What was your favorite thing about competition day?

My favorite part of competition is getting to watch the girls shine! Once our part of the competition started, we were together as a team for the afternoon. To watch them interactive, praise, and help each other as we warmed up was a beautiful thing. Then to watch them give it their all and leave it all on the floor all while us as coaches cheered them on makes my heart so proud. It was also amazing to take pictures afterwards and celebrate our win.

What was the feeling like hearing Hartfield's name receive the title?

Our girls work so very hard from practices in the heat during the summer to the 6am practices in the fall that to win just validates that! We were also the last category to be announced for the day at the competition. At this point, Hartfield had won all of their divisions so if we won this one too, it would mean we swept the competition. As we heard 2nd place called and it wasn’t us (meaning we just won and swept) us as coaches began to cry as we realized our girls did it! The feeling was overwhelming joy for our girls and our school.

Chelsea went on to share about how proud she is of this team.. “If you can’t tell (ha!) I love my girls and this team. They are truly something special. To watch them earn not one but two state championship is a testament to who they are and the hard work they have put in. There are not enough words to express how proud of them I am!”

The 2023 MAIS Spirit Competition was a success and we are incredibly proud of the amazing effort made by all Hartfield teams that competed!

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