By Joey Kaufmann
Staff Writer ’06

The age-old debate of whether cheerleading is a sport was solved for me on January 10th. The answer involved basket-tosses and toe-touches right in front of me when I attended the Walton Invitational cheerleading competition. On that fateful day, I saw more than just curly hair and ear-to-ear smiles.

Walton High School’s gymnasium was packed with people. My poor view did not prevent me from being impressed by wonderful performances though. Twenty girls, only feet from each other, did triple back handsprings capped off with back flips. However, it was not until Lassiter performed that I saw a true spectacle.

I had already applauded ten schools when I heard Lassiter was to perform next. The squad’s reputation preceded them. I had never witnessed a performance by Lassiter’s squad before this day, but I anticipated good things.

The girls made no mistakes, at least to my untrained eye, and made the other schools look second rate. The poise they showed was beyond description. They left the mat foreseeing a first place trophy. I heard a girl from South Cobb High School returning to her seat next to me, mouthing to her friends, “Wow. That was awesome. Like, that was so good.”
The judging dragged on for much too long, and I sat uncomfortably waiting for the results. For entertainment during this long period of time, Danielle Douthit and Jaclyn Ouyang led a “jump-off,” with Danielle making the finals. A controversial tie was reached between Danielle and a somewhat less-deserving girl. Controversial, however, is the last word I would use to describe what I encountered next.

The 4AAAA schools were announced and there were only three 5AAAAA schools left to go. As soon as the second place team was announced, the rising tension culminated. When everyone realized that LHS would at least place in the top ranks, since the second place team was not Lassiter, the whispers and elbow nudging were enough for anyone to surmise who had taken the competition.