BY KATLAN THOMERSON
Glasgow News 1
Tuesday night, the Barren County High School Cheerleading team brought home a trophy, gold medals, and white silky jackets commemorating their historic win at the 2024 UCA Cheerleading Nationals in Orlando, Florida.
“This is the second time that Barren County has brought home white jackets. It is like what every high school cheerleader’s end goal is,” said cheerleading coach Drew Settle. “I won my senior year of high school in co-ed stunts with my partner and my team won this weekend.”
Settle graduated from BCHS in 2005 and began coaching the cheerleading team in 2014. She credits much of her success as a coach to her mother Teresa Bewley.
“She’s coached for 44 years. This weekend was a really big deal for mom,” Settle said. “During our huddle before the team performed and I was giving my pep talk, many of the cheerleaders said, ‘let’s do it for Teresa.'”
Before earning their title as national champions in the 2024 Small Varsity Coed Division II portion of the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship, the squad started this season’s journey by qualifying at regionals in November.
“We won first place at regionals in Lexington and received our bid to the national competition in Florida,” Settle said.
Upon receiving their bid, the cheerleaders continued to practice their routine in preparation for nationals while focusing on making school spirit a top priority.
“They put in a lot of hours. Alongside of preparing for competitions, the cheerleaders are attending school games,” Settle said. “The main goal is that we support athletics at our school.”
In addition to winning the national championship title, the team is also bringing home fourth place in the Small Co-ed Division II Game Day Finals.
“We had a really good time. They did the parks on Thursday and got to enjoy themselves. On Friday, we practiced in the morning, and we practiced in the evening. Then we competed on Saturday, Sunday and Monday,” Settle explained.
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