County squads learn from state meet

Neither Hernando nor Weeki Wachee walked away from last week's FHSAA Finals with a championship.

But coaches for both squads hope their respective teams gained valuable experience in their first foray into state-sanctioned competitive cheerleading this season.

Last Thursday, Weeki Wachee took part in the Class 1A small division non-tumbling semifinals. The Hornets took 21st out of 27 schools with a score of 58.9.

"They did the best I've seen them do all season," Weeki Wachee head coach Kim Koparan said. "I think it shows what they're capable of achieving and probably inspires them to work a lot harder so they can come back like the other teams do.

"They have some experience to help other girls that are new."

On Saturday, the Leopards competed in the Class 2A large coed division semifinals. They finished 14th with a 44.1 score.

"For our first year, we did really good," Hernando head coach Paulina Decker said. "They stuck all their stunts, did exactly what we've been practicing and gave their all. That's all I can ask."