Best High School Cheerleading Teams in the U.S.
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Cheerleading hasn't always been taken seriously as a sport, but the talent and strength of serious high school cheerleaders go way beyond team spirit.
Every year, the top cheerleading teams in the United States face off at the national championships to show off their most death-defying stunts. With the skills of gymnasts and dancers, the girls are all incredible athletes.
These are the best high school cheerleading teams in America.
15. Hagerty High School (Tie)
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Location: Oviedo, Florida
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 79.6
About the Team
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High school cheer is the only high school sport lasting three seasons, through football, basketball and competition seasons.
The girls on the 32-member cheer team work hard all year round in hopes of making the 19-member competitive team. Those who make the cut follow a special training program, including weekly weightlifting exercises to prep them for the stunts and jumps required to compete on the national circuit.
This close-knit team from Oviedo, Florida, may not have placed first, but they're proud of what they accomplished and will definitely be back to compete with their rivals at Bartram Trail High.
15. Bartram Trail High School (Tie)
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Location: St. Johns, Florida
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 79.6
About the Team
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Bartram Trail High's cheer team, led by head cheer coach Danielle Parker, has long been a source of pride for the school. Team members are expected to maintain a good academic standing to join, and can audition for the team as early as eighth grade.
While they "only" tied for 15th place at the 2022 finals, the fact that they made it to the championships at all is a testament to their hard work and dedication.
13. Legend High School (Tie)
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Location: Parker, Colorado
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 83.4
About the Team
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Legend High School, a public school and home of the Titans, has 26 varsity sports including cheerleading.
That's super impressive considering the high school wasn't established until 2008, the first in Parker since Parker High School closed in 1958.
The team also boasts one of the most active Instagram accounts of all serious cheer teams.
13. Winter Park High School (Tie)
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Location: Winter Park, Florida
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 83.4
About the Team
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Winter Park High's varsity cheer team has been a serious threat for ages, in no small part to Angela Baney Austin, their head coach.
After a lengthy winning streak, the team tied for 13th place at nationals in 2022. And coach Austin won coach of the year.
12. Owasso High School
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Location: Owasso, Oklahoma
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 83.7
About the Team
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Owasso High School has a long history of cheerleading stardom. They were the Gameday State Champs in 2018, 2019 and 2020, The 2019 and 2020 Coed State Champs, the 2019 Stunt State Champs, and the 2019 Grand National Champs.
They also have a middle school team to get eighth graders ready to make their cheerleading dreams come true. Every year, their mascot also poses for fun photoshoots with local families.
11. Dutchtown High School
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Location: Geismar, Louisiana
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 84
About the Team
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Dutchtown High's cheerleading team has been one of the best since 2014, in both small, medium and large varsity divisions. In 2022 they placed 11th, but that's still a huge accomplishment.
The team is an active part of their tight-knit community, leading the packed stands to cheer on their teams in a particularly illuminating way.
10. Arlington High School
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Location: Lagrangeville, New York
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 85.6
About the Team
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Cheerleading isn't an undertaking for the faint of heart. Tryouts at Arlington High require a serious audition in front of a panel of experts, and every prospective member must have a medical screening and current health insurance before they're allowed to participate.
Understandable, since they're required to perform multiple jumps, two chants, a self-designed cheer and a choreographed dance just to audition.
That's what it takes to make it to the finals.
9. Bob Jones High School
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Location: Madison, Alabama
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 89.2
About the Team
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Bob Jones High School has such a great cheer program that they were honored by the school board.
They won state in 2022, with a team roster that includes Aaliyah Washington, Daneigh Hart, Kamryn Locke, Leah Lessmann, Olivia Morgan, Sydney McDonald, Annisten Carver, Arianna Lee, Ashlyn Davenport, Bailey Jefferson, Caroline Clark, and eight more amazing young women.
8. Brentwood High School
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Location: Brentwood, New York
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 89.4
About the Team
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Brentwood High, home of the Indians, is part of the Brentwood Union Free School District serving over 4,700 students.
The school boasts over 20 varsity sports, and their all-star cheerleaders are part of the secret to their success.
Placing eighth in the varsity league isn't too shabby at all.
7. Niceville High School
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Location: Niceville, Florida
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 90
About the Team
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Niceville High School is so serious about cheerleading that its team has a dedicated website.
Head coach Tanya Herndon believes in leading her team to become strong, well-rounded athletes and positive influences to their peers and community. She's worked with the team since 2017, leading the team to countless victories.
Next year's team has already been chosen, and after a total of nine hours of intense tryouts, they're set to place even higher next school year.
6. North Hunterdon High School
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Location: Annandale, New Jersey
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 90.1
About the Team
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North Hunterdon's cheer program is one of the best. Their cheerleaders have as much support as they can get, with an annual banquet and help from the school's booster club.
They also learned from a certified nutritionist, who helped them prep for competition season with game-day nutrition and recovery tips.
Considering they placed sixth, the tips must have been good ones.
4. Ravenwood High School (Tie)
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Location: Brentwood, Tennessee
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 90.7
About the Team
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Ravenwood High School has 21 different sports teams with more than 500 student-athletes, including an incredible cheer team.
Their medium high school varsity team won first in their state division in 2018 and has continued to top the charts at the national level, tying for fourth in 2022. They were also state champions in 2021, traveling far and wide to show off their impressive stunts.
The school shows a lot of support for their star students, too.
4. Fresno Central High School (Tie)
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Location: Fresno, California
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 90.7
About the Team
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Central High School, aka the Grizzlies, has a number of award-winning cheer divisions, both in the standard and coed tracks.
To help their team make it to nationals, the school's Pep and Cheer club holds an annual fundraiser. They made enough to take their star athletes all the way to Dallas, where they placed fourth alongside their rivals at Ravenwood High.
3. Corner Canyon High School
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Location: Draper, Utah
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 92.9
About the Team
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The Corner Canyon Chargers have a lot to be proud of. They have more than one state championship title under their belts, plus the 2018 UCA Small Varsity DI National Championship title.
Their cheer team isn't backing down anytime soon, and they're already prepping for next season.
2. Eaglecrest High School
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Location: Aurora, Colorado
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 93
About the Team
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The Eaglecrest Raptors' name is an acronym for what they stand for: respect, achievement, pride, teamwork, opportunity and responsibility.
They have the right idea, because their cheerleading team has been winning awards since 1992.
In 2019, they even won a world title.
1. Bullitt East High School
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Location: Mt. Washington, Kentucky
Score at the 2022 National Cheerleading Championships: 94.5
About the Team
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Bullitt East High's cheerleading team topped the charts in 2022, placing first at the medium varsity level. They were back-to-back state champs too, and over 2,000 people follow them on Instagram to see their latest stunts.
Even their summer camp looks picture-perfect.
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