For the first time in ADM history, the cheer team took home a first-place win at state. ADM placed first and third in the 3A Stunt Group division and fourth in the 3A Cheer Dance division, marking a historic achievement for the cheer team.
In previous years, the ADM cheer team placed lower. For example, according to the Iowa Cheerleading Coaches Association (ICCA), in both 2023 and 2024, the ADM cheer team did not participate in the 3A Stunt Group division, but placed 5th in the Cheer Dance division for 3A at state. This year, the cheer team placed 4th under the Cheer Dance category for 3A, in addition to a first-place spot in the Stunt Group category. The cheer team has put in the effort to make history.
“We came in either before or after practice and worked for 15 [to] 30 minutes on just regular skills,” Annika Hillmer said. “And then about a month or two months before state competition, we started choreography for the stunt [portion] that we work until state.”
The cheerleaders worked hard and put in the time and effort to improve and learn, but they also ensured proper communication and relations with each other, especially among smaller stunt groups. With communication being an important aspect of teamwork and success, it is no surprise that communication helped the cheer team make history.
“…We communicated all the time, and we always talked to each other to maintain our bond and make sure that we were always on the same page and we were all getting along,” Karlee Christianson said.
The day of the competition, the cheerleaders arrived at the DAC at 6 a.m. to warm up and prepare for one of the most important performances of their season. After getting in uniform and applying makeup, the cheerleaders boarded the bus and arrived at the Jacobsen Center in Des Moines. The first to perform was the team in the Cheer Dance division. Shortly after their performance, Stunt Group A was ready to perform.
“There was one part of our stunt that didn’t hit in the warm-up room, so I was basically just more worried about getting that,” Christianson said. “And then once we did hit that part of the stunt, the rest of it was just easy, for fun, like performing for the crowd”.
Ella Campbell was also focused during her performance with Stunt Group A.
“I kept thinking, ‘just do your best and try your hardest, and whatever happens, happens. You can do it,'” Campbell said. Stunt Group A’s focus paid off in the end, claiming a first-place cheer win for ADM.
This win marks not only a decisive triumph for ADM but also for the cheerleaders who made this victory possible. While the success of the cheer team means much to ADM, it means more to the cheerleaders.
“It shows everyone that we’re not just a sideline sport,” Hillmer said. “Unless you come to the state competition or a showcase, you don’t have any clue what we actually do, and bringing home a title — it means a lot to me — because not only are we the first people to do it, we’re the first people to prove that cheer is more than ‘Go, Fight, Win!’”
