KUSA -- The Castle View Sabercats cheer squad wants to be more than number one in the state. It wants to soar to the top spot in the country, along with the rest of Douglas County.
This week, eight of the county's nine high schools will send their teams to the National High School Cheer Championships in Orlando, Florida. Many have been there before, but not with so many familiar faces.
"We are absolutely making a name for ourselves by making finals in various categories," Castle View head cheer coach Heather Acompora said. "However, we still have some room to go."
Castle View, Chaparral, Douglas County, Highlands Ranch, Legend, Mountain Vista, Rock Canyon and ThunderRidge will be in the company of close to 22,000 other cheerleaders from around the United States. Each is competing in various categories, some of which, require them to pass through several rounds before making it to the finals. Even still, Acompora says she is confident the Colorado teams will grab people's attention.
"I do believe that Douglas County schools will be pretty dominant," she said.
Acompora says cheerleading has grown significantly over the years in Douglas County, in part because the population is on the rise. She says the schools and families have shown a willingness to put time and money into the sport, which has helped it take off.
Another large part of the county's success is the new training facilities in the area that come with certified cheer and tumbling coaches.
"We have awesome facilities here in Colorado, where kids are able to get started at super young ages," Peak Athletics Tumbling Director C.A. Sears said. "The high school world, kids are just getting into it, and being more competitive. It's neat to see where they've come from and where they are right now."
Peak Athletics is one such gym that has seen tremendous growth in the past few years. In addition to housing its own teams of competitive travel teams, several Douglas County high schools have turned to them to work on specific skills.
Although area coaches admit there is always room for growth, there is no question the kids are progressing.
"On the national level, I would love for my kids to keep pushing and even maybe opening the doors to what Colorado could build," she said. "Colorado hasn't been a big threat on the national front yet; I think we're starting to make a name, starting to."
(© 2016 KUSA)
