Clay County High School Cheerleaders To Perform At The Citrus Bowl

Six Clay County High School cheerleaders will perform at halftime of the Cheeze-It Citrus Bowl featuring Tennessee and Iowa on New Year’s Day.

Assistant Cheer Coach Steve Chitwood said the girls have been practicing a dance choreographed just for this performance. The girls were selected by the United Cheerleaders Association at a home camp this past summer.

“They’re all really good girls and they’ve worked hard,” Chitwood said. “And we have six seniors this year, and so it’s kind of a last opportunity for them to excel at something at the high school level.”

Chitwood said the instructors at the camp taught the girls new routines and worked with them on stunts and dances. He said the girls received soaring grades for their performances and were invited to showcase their abilities on a national stage.

“The instructors that come are trained in what to look for in the squad, and how they perform, and attitude and things like that, and they make the determination,” Chitwood said. “They do the grading on an individual basis, and sometimes you make it, sometimes you don’t.”

Chitwood said the girls arrived in Orlando early Friday morning for Monday’s showdown between Tennessee and Iowa, giving them free time to explore the city. He said they are particularly excited to visit Universal Studios.

“It’s like a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Chitwood said. “It’s something that they’ll never forget and something they can tell their granddaughters when they’re cheerleaders.”

Keep an eye out for Laney Haynes, Chloe Graves, Callie Devanna, Maylee Kyle, and Allison and Adaya Collins at halftime. The game begins at noon Central Time.