High School Sports
Purple Reign: Cheerleaders win state title.
By Dave Whitaker
Nov 10, 2023, 18:30

The theme for BCHS this cheer season had been “Purple Reign.” But the Royals had experienced another kind of rain, a flood of injuries. One person suffered an ATV accident. Another had an injured wrist. There were numerous rolled ankles.



Despite the adversity, BC finished area runner up by just four points, and were 5.5 points behind last year’s state champion Armuchee. The squad knew they were right there, it was just a matter of hitting their routine.



Friday morning, BC looked to end their season on a high note at the state finals. A large group of family and friends had made the short trip up to cheer them on. They roared as announcer Jeff Halsey called them to the floor.



For the first time all season, all the stunt groups stayed up. Were it not for part of the pyramid coming down early, BC would’ve had a flawless routine. Still, it was by far their best showing of the season.



Would it be enough? When the top six were called alphabetically, Bleckley was among them. But when Halsey announced the top four, that’s when the biggest cheer took place.



Fourth place, Pepperell. Third place Swainsboro. Your Class A runner up, Armuchee. “Ladies and Gentlemen. Your 2023 Georgia High School Association State Cheerleading Champions, Bleckley County!”

Front row: Shanise Floyd, Rose Reardin, Graycen Phinazee, Chesney White, Ansley Newman, Isabelle Bennett, Makenli Armstrong. Back row: Coach Heather Davis, Ella Ford, Jasey Warren, Jessie Dennis, Gabbie Wells, Bailey Enright, Anna Kate Wall, Capri Faulk, Anna Claire Dean, Kenzee Dykes, Olivia Floyd, Emmy Kay Williams, Coach Allie Anderson.