The Tyrone High School Cheerleading Squad got some unexpected but welcome news on Monday: after coming close but not quite qualifying for states at the district competition, the cheerleaders learned that they will compete at the PIAA Competitive Spirit State Championships in Hershey.

The cheerleaders placed ninth out of fifteen teams at the District Competition held at TAHS, which initially left them two places short of qualifying for states. 

However, on Monday afternoon Tyrone’s coaches learned of two changes in the standings that allowed Tyrone to qualify.

First, Bishop Guilfoyle dropped out of the championship, bringing Tyrone up to eighth place. Second, the PIAA announced that another team from District VI would be added to the championship round.   These two developments put Tyrone into the state competition.

The coaches gathered the girls on Monday and told them that they would be dropping their scheduled competition on January 31. As the girls protested, they explained that they were also adding a competition as they threw Hershey kisses in the air.

“I thought they were kidding at first, but then I was really excited after I realized they were serious. I never thought that my first year on the team that we would make it to states,” said sophomore cheerleader Laura Gunter.

The state competition will be held at the Giant Center in Hershey on Friday the 22nd and Saturday the 23rd.

The Lady Eagles only have eight days to prepare for the experience of a lifetime.

“I was speechless when the coaches told us. This is a dream I’ve had since I started cheerleading. I can’t believe that I get to compete at states my last year” said senior co-captain Kendra Walker

The competition will begin at 9:00 am on Friday, January 22 and 8:30 am on Saturday, January 23, 2016. Spectators will be admitted beginning at 8:00 am on Friday and 7:30 am on Saturday.

Admission to the first round is $3.00 for students,  $6.00 for adults.  Admission for the semi-finals and finals are $4.00 for students and $8.00 for adults. 

COMPETITION FORMAT (information from PIAA website)

Preliminary Round – All teams compete. The top 25% of scores advance to the final round (ties will not be broken). The next 25% of scores will advance to the semifinal round (ties will not be broken).

Semi‐finals – The top score from the semifinal round will advance to the final round (ties will not be broken).

Finals – PIAA will award the champion and runner‐up from each division.

Routine: Overall time of routine is 2 minutes and 30 seconds and must include a cheer. The cheer can be stand alone or can be done over music. Teams cheering over music will still be accountable for satisfying the components of the “CHEER” portion of the score sheet. (ex: A cheer consisting of only motions performed to music will score a ZERO in “use of skills.”).

Floor Size: 54 feet wide by 42 feet deep and all participants must start with at least one foot (hand) on the performance surface. Sign and props can be placed off the performance floor, but participants cannot step off during the routine to get them.