In the 2017 half of the 2017-18 competitive cheerleading season, Strawberry Crest looked nothing like its old self. With only one competition win, a low turnout and a roster full of newcomers to the program with much to learn, the Chargers weren’t striking many people as a four-peat favorite.
They did it anyway.
Head coach Loveny Rivas calls it a comeback story like Rocky Balboa’s. Her kids call it an “amazing” example of hard work working out. The scorecard at the Feb. 4 FHSAA state championships called it a razor-thin win over a much bigger Winter Park team, a 0.7-point margin of victory in Gainesville that put Crest squarely into uncharted territory. No matter what you call it, no Florida team in the Small Co-Ed division has ever done what Crest has in the last four seasons.
“It’s been a long journey, but it was all worth it,” senior Kaitlyn Kubecka said. “We put in all the work that we could and we rode the wave out.”
In 2018, the Chargers found their rhythm and morphed into the kind of high-level squad Rivas has produced year after year. They recorded a clean sweep of Western Conference — one of the season’s high points, as the team didn’t win it in the previous season — along with regionals and states. They took down Winter Park, 78.50 to 77.80, despite having six fewer cheerleaders on the floor.
“At states, we were going to keep pushing for perfection because we knew that our opponents were pretty close in points,” senior captain Alexis Powell said. “We won states by 0.7 points. Everything that we did had to be perfect and we all had to push.”
A group of 14 cheerleaders in a division allowing up to 35 on the floor at a time ran the tables in the end, when it mattered most. The Chargers left Gainesville with heads held high, knowing that moment was the high point of the program’s short history.
“I’m very proud of the team,” Rivas said. “This season has been a testament of what can be accomplished if you work hard believe in yourselves, stay positive and work together as a team.”
Kubecka, Quinn Hyde and Amber Farmer have been with the varsity team for each of its four state title wins. The “ride or die” trio was part of the first group of Crest athletes to hang a banner in the gymnasium and are leaving the most decorated cheerleaders in Small Co-Ed history.
“It feels good because we were the first team to win a state title when we were on the team as freshmen. Then we kept winning, winning and winning,” Hyde said. “We’re the only ones who’ve won all four, so it feels special.”
Senior Caleb Raymond, one of the new faces for the 2017-18 season, said going through the season taught him to “never give up and just keep pushing” no matter what happens — even for something as hard as coming into a new situation with a new team.
“From my perspective, I’ve only been here for one year. I come in, like, kind of scared that I won’t be the best I can be because they’ve all been winning and winning,” Raymond said. “But I was glad they accepted me into the team. We had a good time.”
Powell, a three-year veteran, said the best part of her last high school season was seeing how everyone came together to work toward the ultimate goal.
“It’s really awesome to come to this program and have amazing coaches that set out goals and help us achieve the goals we have made,” she said. “Everybody on our team wants the same things, and it’s great because we’re working together and working for each other to accomplish those goals.”
After school let out on Monday afternoon, the team’s seniors gathered in Rivas’s classroom to record another first in Crest cheerleading history — designing their own state championship rings. It’s a moment none of them thought they’d share earlier in the season, if at all during their high school careers, and ideas came tumbling out like a floor routine. No matter what design they settle on, those rings will represent obstacles overcome and unique lessons learned.
“What I love about sports is that you can really teach life lessons that you really can’t in the classroom,” Rivas said. “Life experiences of, ‘Hey, this is gonna be tough,’ or ‘You have to work a little bit harder,’ or ‘Don’t give up on yourself.’”