After a long hiatus due to schedule conflicts such as holiday weekends and middle school state cross country, BCMS returned to the mat Saturday at the Battle in the Boro hosted by Statesboro High School. Though not a large school in terms of student numbers, Bleckley was placed into the large school division based upon having 16 cheerleaders on the mat competing.



It made for some unusual matchups. South Effingham, who's high school is 5A, was in the same division with Dublin and Swainsboro. BC had to go against middle schools who's high schools were in larger classifications such as 6A Richmond Hill.



A chant of "Let's go Bleckley" could be heard as the squad prepared to take the floor. The large gym was literally the biggest stage many had seen. While that and the early start time (9 am competition start) may've affected their energy, their execution was solid.



Every stunt stuck. Good jumps. Cheers were loud and motions were sharp. The crowd of family and supporters who'd made the trek down I-16 that early morning cheered their approval of the routine. Tensions though were high as results were read. Surely small Bleckley County couldn't beat large schools like Ware County, right?



Screams of joy that would soon come from the girls wearing new gold uniforms trimmed in purple provided an answer. Third place, Richmond Hill. Second place, Ware County. Your 2016 Battle in the Boro Large Middle School Division Champion, Bleckley County! Coaches Becky Smith and Liz Brown ran on to the mat to hug and celebrate with the squad.

The squad with coaches Becky Smith and Liz Brown.

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