WBOY.com: Clarksburg, Morgantown: News, Sports, WeatherClay-Battelle Cheerleading Seeks Third Straight State Championship

Clay-Battelle Cheerleading Seeks Third Straight State Championship

For four of the past five years the Clay-Battelle cheerleading team has left Charleston with the hardware and they've made a statewide name for themselves with the string of consistency. This isn't unlike a run of victories the Cee Bees has back in the 90's when these girls first began to take an interest in the sport.

"Ever since I was a little girl I've had the passion to be a Clay-Battelle cheerleader, because we've been winning state championships for many years," senior Paxton Bane said.

"Seeing the older girl always perform their routines was motivation to me to help me and push me to be who I am today," senior Spencer Pritchard added.

Like any high school team, you have to assume the string of talent will eventually graduate. However every single year Clay-Battelle turns a new group of girls into winners and it's all thanks to a simple formula and solid coaching.

"After last year, many people told me 'that was probably the last state championship we'd have for awhile, we lost five seniors. This year we took on several new girls and they have surpassed every expectation," head coach Nikki Mattingly said.

I'm about to make a bold yet true statement, cheerleading is not unlike football in multiple respects. It's a game filled with precision, team work and physical endurance. A game of inches if you will, and one mistake could spell disaster for the entire unit. A competitive cheerleading season is the longest of any high school sport, and it takes toughness to endure. All the time together combined with working toward a common goal spells unmatched camaraderie.

"Well at the beginning you don't really know how it feels to win, and to be apart of a team and it's not really a team here at Clay-Battelle, it's a family, and we're all united as one and the more you go through the more you get attached to every single person on the team," senior Sarah Earl stated.

Clay-Battelle has never won three straight state titles in any sport and just thinking about that climbing that mountain is thrilling for these girls.

"I get cold chills whenever I think of a third straight title because as a senior I would really like to think that we could come together and pull three for the first time ever and make history right now," Pritchard added.