The Minooka cheer team battled adversity all season and managed to make history at the state competition, despite being in the middle of a worldwide pandemic.

On , March 13, the team placed 8th place in the state of Illinois in the large division. This was the highest that Minooka cheerleading has ever placed in the IHSA state cheerleading competition.

“It was an amazing feeling once it was announced that we placed 8th. I will never forget this team, and I am grateful to have been a part of such a great group of girls,” said junior Natalie Gonzalez.

Making it to even the second day of the state competition was something that Minooka fell short of last year. This team was similar but also different and better than last year’s team. This team performed when it really counted.

“They stuck together as a team, stayed resilient, and persevered through the unknown times,” head xoach Kelly Bielec stated when talking about how the pandemic affected the team.

This year even affected the routines that teams were able to do. The pandemic forced IHSA to take stunting out of the routines and just judge the teams on their tumbling.

“Knowing that we’re making all the cheerleaders who cheered before us and our coaches proud is pretty cool,” said junior Sierra Perez.