UCHS cheerleaders shine at UCA Camp at Appalachian State

The Unicoi County High School Blue Devil cheerleaders recently completed a successful camp at the Universal Cheerleaders Association Camp at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. The cheer team is led by UCHS assistant principal Elizbethton Watson, now in her tenth year of coaching. Watson has coached both the varsity and junior varsity teams. Watson told The Erwin Record about the team's second trip to ASU for the UCA Camp. "They are long days," Watson said. "We leave the dorms at 7:15 a.m. and don't return until 9:15 at night. We earned the infamous 'banana' on the first night. This may seem super strange to everyone not in the cheer world, but this is a big deal." Watson said the team also earned two first-place trophies for camp routine and overall champion, a third-place trophy for game day routine and then the Traditions Aware for the second year in a row. "The traditions award is super important to me because the staff of camp votes on this and it just means that they love how our team interacts with each other and other teams," Watson said. The team is led by five seniors: Captain Caelyn Maden, Ella Hollenbeck, Brileigh Gott, Hailey Hendrix and Kira Whitson. "They have all cheered all four years with me, and I could not ask for a better group of seniors," Watson said. "They are all so talented, and I can't wait to see what they accomplish." Watson added that she is proud of her team's accomplishments at camp and how they feel about competition. "Winning isn't everything, but I think for how hard these girls work year-round, it validates that for them," Watson said. "Unless you see them on a daily basis, it's easy to think they just work for our Blue Devils on the sidelines (and we love cheering on our Blue Devils and Lady Blue Devils), but we love competing." Watson added that to earn two first place trophies was a testament to the team and how hard the members work for what they want. "The only other time we haven't earned first place was when we attended UCA Camp at University of Tennessee four years ago, so I was so excited to see them earn that," Watson said. "I also loved our middle school seeing what the future is for them," Watson added. Several members of the UCHS cheer team earned All-American honors, which added to the team's accolades. "UCA camp allows each team to nominate eight cheerleaders to try out for All-American," Watson said. "I always start with my seniors and then work my way down." Watson said all five seniors tried out, as well as three juniors: Jaeda Bartlett, who is brand new to cheerleading, along with Kimberly Lafollette and Lily Briest. All eight of them made All-American. "We are the only team that attended camp that had all participants make it," Watson said. "This was such an honor!" More competition is ahead for the Blue Devil cheerleaders, according to Watson. "We have been competing for all six years that I have been coaching varsity, but this year we are competing in three competitions versus just one," Watson said. "We will be attending the state cheer competition in Knoxville in November, regional competition in North Carolina in November and another regional competition in Pigeon Forge in December," she said. "Our goal is to earn a bid to Nationals," Watson added. If the UCHS team is invited to the Nationals in Orlando, Florida, this will be the team's fourth trip to the prestigious event.