As Colin Powell once said, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” For the first time in Xavier’s history, varsity football cheerleaders competed at the Iowa High School State Cheer competition on November 6. The cheer competition was held at Jacobson Exhibition Center in Des Moines, which doubles as the Iowa State Fair Grounds. There are four divisions from 1A to 4A and Xavier Cheer competed in the 3A Cheer Dance division. The divisions are based on the high school’s basketball divisons, with Xavier being 3A. There are multiple categories, including Band Chant, School Fight Song, Time Out, Stunt Groups and Cheer Dance. The cheer dance can be up to two minutes and 30 seconds, with the music being no more than 90 seconds. Stunt Group is one minute once the cheerleaders start their cheer. Time Out is one minute and the time starts right after the team is announced with the buzzer. Band Chant and School Fight Song are one minute performances and are previously recorded. Since all the teams are high schoolers they have an opportunity to think about the future. If cheerleaders are interested in cheering in college there were colleges present with booths and two collegiate teams that performed right before awards. The competition started with announcements and ended with awards for 3A and 4A. The Xavier cheerleaders choreographed the routine on November 2 and worked twice a day for the whole week on the routine. “We are preparing for state by having two practices a day this week. We learned a lot of new skills and are really focused and dedicated to doing well. I am so excited that we are going to the state competition since Xavier has never gone before. I am so proud of the girls and all their hard work and dedication,” cheer coach, Piper Kisserling, said. The Saints placed 7th out of 14 in their performance. Their routine was coregraphed by junior, Elizabeth Tanner. “My teammates and I have been working so incredibly hard for the past two weeks. We have had so many different obstacles come our way but have found ways around them and ended up with a great routine. I’m so proud of how we did at state and can’t wait to see what we can do next year,” Tanner said. The team said that the obstacles did not stop them but made them work harder. Xavier plans to attend State next year and keep the hard work and dedication going.