(Photo by Ricks Pics Photography)EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville Cheerleading tryouts are being held this week for the 2023-24 team – a team that will look to follow up on the success of the 2022-23 team, which is coming off a record-breaking season. While EHS cheer has always been a source of pride for the school and the community, their success was a testament to their talent and hard work.

We are still so excited about the success that the 2022-23 team had,” said head coach Anna Schuetzenhofer. “We had amazing leaders in our senior class, and we are so happy that they could graduate with a record-breaking season. It makes us excited for future years of Edwardsville Cheerleading and the success to come.”

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The 2022-23 team recorded the school’s highest ranking at the state championships with a sixth-place overall finish. They also claimed the program’s first sectional championship, while also taking first at the ICCA Championships and winning the Southwestern Conference Championship. Additionally, they earned first-place finishes at the Lincoln Way East Invite, the Lockport Invite and the Oak Forest Invite.

“As their coach, I am most proud of them for embracing new traditions and values this season and pushing themselves towards change, which ultimately ended with being recognized as a top contender in the state.”

Schuetzenhofer said the team’s success can be attributed to many things.

“As I mentioned, they worked hard on values and cultures this season. We came up with our five core values at the beginning of the season and it helped the team channel their hard work towards their goals.”

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She added that in cheerleading, details are extremely important, and it was something the team had lacked in the past.

“This team focused on the little details, which paired with their immense talent, led to record-breaking results this season.”

Coming into the season, the coaching staff knew they had to capitalize on the talent this team had.

“We knew early on that this team was special, but I would say that we could not have predicted that they would be undefeated until IHSA State. We were genuinely surprised and humbled by every win and every accomplishment along the way.”

In no way was the success of this season a fluke for the program, which has been a leader in this area of state for many years. They have continually been recognized as a top 25 team in the state and in the last four years have stayed consistent in the top 10 teams in the state in the Large Varsity Division.

“The word of our success this season and in previous seasons will hopefully inspire more young cheerleaders in the district to work hard and build the Edwardsville Cheerleading Program. I want to recognize that our JV and middle school programs also had remarkable success this season due to coaching and talent. We will never stop working to improve the program and I believe that this upcoming season will be just as good, if not better, than this season was.”

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