Long wait, but huge pay off
Crescent earns long-sought state title in competitive cheer
CHEER CHAMPS – Members of Crescent’s state championship cheerleading squad include, from left; front row, Olivia Scott, AllyMorgan Dyson, Ashley Adams, Tatum Cummings, Reydon Walker, Kaylin Scott, Chloe Johnson and Addison Davis; middle row, Kyleigh S
A quarter-century of work has paid off.
Crescent laid claim to its second state championship in cheerleading last Saturday when it won the Class 2A competition at the UMAC in Tulsa.
The group of lady Tigers scored 244.6 points to outgun co-runners-up Cashion and Haworth, who tallied 226.8 points each.
“This group of athletes put in the work and what a payoff,” head coach Danyele Walker said.
It’s the second time in a year Crescent has celebrated a state title in the sport.
Crescent was crowned the 2A Game Day champ last November.
This year’s feat gives the program the double-dip in the sport and makes cheerleading the only sport at the school to hold multiple state titles.
Walker started the competitive cheer program when she began teaching and coaching at Crescent in the late 1990s.
Although the program had reached state numerous times, the competitive cheer title had been out of reach.
Until this year. Crescent won the re
Crescent won the regional title the previous weekend and followed it up with a nearly flawless routine at state.
“Our girls knew we needed to hit everything and they nailed it,” Walker said. “Twenty-five years was a long time to wait on this state championship, but was it ever worth the wait.”
The state title was also a bit of a family affair.
Walker’s daughter, Reydon Walker, has been a member of both state championship teams.
Assistant coach Karley Ross, also a former cheerleader, has two daughters on the team: Jaylee and Kynlee Ross.
“We are so proud of this team,” added Walker, who is the second member of her family to guide Crescent to a state title.
Her father, the late Steve Richards, was the head coach when Crescent won the Class A football crown in 1990. He also won three football championships at Davenport and is a member of the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Cheer now owns two of the five overall state championships at Crescent.
The community showed its support for the team hours before and during competition.
There was a community send-off as the team left for Tulsa at 7 a.m. and signs lined the highway for a mile outside of Crescent.
Walker said more than 100 Tiger fans attended the state competition.
“There’s no better place than Crescent,” she said.