On January 1, 2019, the Raptor Cheer Team will be traveling down to Orlando, Florida to perform before the Citrus Bowl along with several other high school cheer teams. They received this opportunity through their excellent work at the Universal Cheer Association Camp, which was held at Clemson University over the summer. Several components were focused on at the camp such as safety, entertainment, and school spirit. The Raptors won first place both in their cheers and overall performance. With such iconic cheers as “Hit’em hard, big D”, “Go, fight, win tonight”, “Pump it up”, and “Grunt, Sizzle”, it’s easy to see why.

For those who are uninformed, The Citrus Bowl has been going on since its establishment in 1947 where college teams from across the country like the University of South Carolina, LSU, and Notre Dame have participated. Usually two teams from the top 25 ranked college teams are chosen to play. It takes place at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Several times throughout the 70 years of the Citrus Bowls, colleges from South Carolina have taken home the title. These include The Citadel (1960), Clemson (1987), and the University of South Carolina (2011, 2013).

All of the 14 girls on the team have rigorous course loads and high GPAs while also practicing multiple times a week with competitions on most Saturdays. The girls have a go-fund me set up in order to raise money for the trip. They will also be having a bake sale on October 6th and the 20th.

I decided to go talk to the senior captains, Audrey Alexander and Rachael Stokes, and the leadership team, Jessica Forney and Sarah Romagnuolo, to find out their thoughts on the upcoming event:

Rachael Stokes (12): “I’m very proud of all the new girls! And I’m excited to get to spend time with all my girlies in Orlando!

Sarah Romagnuolo (12): “#citrus #bowl… I’m very excited!”

Also from Sarah: “While we’re at Disney I’m going to try out to be Disney princess. I’m thinking maybe Ariel so I don’t have to walk.”

Jessica Forney (12): “I mean I’m definitely excited about performing… but equally as important, I’m looking for my Disney World fling so I can get a midnight kiss on New Year’s Eve.”

Audrey Alexander (12): “I’m so excited that we get the opportunity to go perform as a team before the Citrus Bowl!”

And a special quote from junior Rosie Booker,

Rosie (11): “I think Jessica’s knee brace really held the entire team together. It really made us bond.”

To go along with their routine, they have a custom music mix featuring such iconic bops as “Queen” by Shawn Mendes, “Too Cool” from Camp Rock, “Everytime We Touch” by Cascada, “Breathin” by Ariana Grande, and “Shake it” by Metro Station.

Good luck to the Raptor Cheer Team at the Citrus Bowl!