On Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, the GCHS varsity cheer team headed down to Bloomington, IL for the annual IHSA State Series. After performing on Friday, they were able to advance to State finals on Saturday due to earning third place in their division. During Friday’s third place qualifying performance, one of the announcing judges said “You can see on their faces how proud they are of this routine, and they should be.” This evoked hope from the many families and friends that were watching the cheerleaders perform, and rightfully so. Awards occurred later that day, where they announced that GCHS was officially able to move on to Finals on Saturday. On Saturday, Feb. 7, the cheerleaders performed their final routine at noon, and were awarded silver medals shortly after, only being 1.14 points away from getting the gold.

When asked how she felt, junior Addison Greenfield said, “There were definitely some nerves, but overall we trusted our training and each other to get where we wanted.” Another cheerleader, junior Jayda Oliver, said that there were a few times this season where it felt like nothing was working because of the outcomes they were facing, but she had hope in her team and the last few weeks leading up to the State Series were rewarding. Because of this, she said that being a state runner-up was “unreal,” and that she “couldn’t have asked for more.” Similarly, cheerleader and senior Charlie Glover said “State did not go as expected because of our stats this season, however, I’m so proud of my team for displaying love, connection, and grit in our routine.” Despite the mental block, nerves, fear, failure in the past, and any other obstacles that the cheerleaders had to face, they still pushed through and earned the massive accomplishment of a silver medal. In 2025’s State Series, GCHS Varsity Cheer got third place at State, and in 2026 they got second. Will 2027 bring gold?