MORE CHEERS: Union/A-C Valley One of Three District 9 Competitive Spirit Teams to Move on at State Competition

HERSHEY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — With a subtle gesture of the hands and deep breathing in homage to “High School Musical” to cut the tension, members of the Union/A-C Valley competitive spirit team took to the mat in Hershey on Friday.

The stakes couldn’t be higher.

A good performance and the “U-Birds” would move on. Mistakes, even minor ones, and ride could be over.

Months and months of grueling practices all for naught.

Union/A-C Valley, though, was nearly flawless, punching a ticket to Saturday’s PIAA Competitive Spirit semifinals with 67.80 points to rank sixth out of 36 teams in the Class 2A Small Division.

(Pictured above, the Union/A-C Valley competitive spirit team)

The team was just .3 points away from an automatic berth into the finals — a first for the program.

“This team has put in a lot of work,” said Union/A-C Valley competitive spirit coach Stacey Fox. “We have great kids on this team. It would be wonderful if we make it (to the finals). As long as they go out and work hard, no matter what happens I will be proud of them.”

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Union/A-C Valley, the District 9 champs, have never reached the finals at the state competition before. Neither did A-C Valley before the co-op.

That could change this season.

Fox had hoped to alter the routine more before the state competition, but several bad weather days canceled school and practices.

So Fox had to be more conservative with the performance.

What Union/A-C Valley did do on the mat on Friday, it did well, earning a chance to compete for a spot in the finals.

Southern Columbia had the top score in the Class 2A Small Division with 78.40 points.

“I’m very proud of my team,” said senior Kyleigh Morrison. “I think we’ve worked hard all season long. I think getting to finals would be a very big thing in the history of Union and A-C Valley.”

The plan for Friday night was to return to the hotel, have some pizza and watch film.

Union/A-C Valley was docked .5 points off its score. That was much lower than some of the deductions absorbed by other teams.

The goal is always perfection and that’s what Fox and her team will be chasing in the semifinals.

“Everybody’s going for clean,” Fox said. “Everyone wants to be perfect. We need a clean routine. We have to be perfect on our stunts and our tumbling has to be perfect. We need to get extra points on our dance. Our jumps were a little off today and our tumbling was a little off. If we fix those things, I think we can do it.”

Morrison agreed.

“We just need to rest up and perform the same way tomorrow, but honestly just a little bit better,” she said. “There were a few slip ups here and there, but if we keep the same composure as we did today, I think we can do very well tomorrow.”

There’s a lot of pressure, something Morrison said many people don’t understand about the sport.

The team practiced five and sometimes six days a week for months.

And it all boiled down to a two minute and 30 second performance in Hershey.

That’s why it is so important for the team to relax with as Morrison called it, “a silly hand gesture and breathing from High School Musical.”

It’s a little exercise of quick, deep breaths, a quick utterance of “U-Bird Nation” and the closing and opening of the fingers into the palm. It makes members of the team chuckle and serves as a most welcome relief from the pressure.

“I think everyone on the team has their own kind of way of calming nerves,” Morrison said. “We like to do that silly hand gesture. It’s just a silly, fun thing for us. We give each other big hugs and I personally like to pray before every routine.”

Two other District 9 competitive cheer teams advanced to the semifinals on Friday.

Elk County Catholic scored 74.70 points in the Class 2A Large Division to move on to the semifinals.

(Karns City’s competitive spirit team in Hershey/submitted photo)

Karns City, thanks to a score of 69.80, also slipped into the Class 2A Large semifinals.

Redbank Valley and St. Marys narrowly missed advancing in Class 2A Small.

Union/A-C Valley will perform at 10:12 a.m. on Saturday. Karns City will take the stage at 10:48 a.m., followed by Elk County Catholic at 10:56 a.m.

Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.