Members of the Union/A-C Valley competitive spirit team pose with the District 9 co-ed championship trophy.
DuBOIS, Pa. (EYT) — Members of the Union/A-C Valley competitive spirit team waited.
And waited.
And waited.
One after another, the six teams before them took to the mat for their routines. All the U-Birds could do was watch and try to stay loose and focused.
It was a challenge. It was a grueling day at DuBois High School on Saturday.
But it was worth it.
The long wait paid off in the end.
When the Falcon Knights finally got on the mat, they executed their routine well enough to win the District 9 co-ed championship.
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
It was the fourth consecutive district title for the program. The first came at A-C Valley in the co-ed division, then again in the same division as Union/A-C Valley in 2023 before a small-school crown last year.
Back in co-ed with one male on the team — David Lutz — the U-Birds were co-ed champions again.
“I’m very proud of our kids,” said Union/A-C Valley competitive spirit coach Stacey Fox. “However, today was not our best performance. We’ve had a couple of other ones that were a little better. Our goal was to make states and we did. We were last in the lineup and I often think it’s best to go first. We went last and we waited around a long time.”
Union/A-C Valley warmed up and then was idle for 20 more minutes before it could perform.
“It was very nerve wracking,” said senior Payton Duffee. “Being last was very hard for us. We watched all the other teams, but we knew that if we work together and did our part in the routine that we were going to hit it.”
It was certainly worth the wait for Duffee, Baylie Wingard and Sami Whitling — the three seniors from A-C Valley who were freshmen on that first title team.
Four years later, they have four D9 gold medals.
“It’s amazing,” Duffee said.
“It definitely has a special place in my heart,” Wingard added. “I mean, cheerleading is always going to have a special place in my heart.”
Wingard also had some scary times with that heart.
As a freshman, she tired quickly. Just the simple act of walking caused labored breaths and a racing heart.
Doctors finally zeroed in on the problem. Wingard had supraventricular tachycardia — a fast and irregular heartbeat caused by an abnormal electrical pathway in the heart’s sinus node.
The cure was surgery. In March 2024, a catheter was inserted into a blood vessel and guided into Wingard’s heart. There, small scars were created to stop the irregular signals.
It worked.
“I don’t have any problems. I can breathe. I feel like my chest is just free,” Wingard said. “It was scary. It was just really hard to do anything because my heart would race, and I would get worried that it was just going to trigger my heart. After that, I never had a problem. It feels normal.”
With her mind at ease, Wingard could focus on her work as a flyer — the athlete at the top of the pyramid, thrown into the air during a stunt.
Whitling is also a flyer. Duffee is a base — another very important job.
The task at hand now for Union/A-C Valley is preparing for the PIAA Competitive Spirit Championships, which will be held in Reading, Pa., on Jan. 30 and 31.
Union/A-C Valley is working on a more difficult routine that Fox hopes her team can perform at the state championships.
The goal to to reach the finals for the first time in the history of the program.
“I believe if we work hard enough, we definitely can do it,” Duffee said. “We have the capability of doing it.”
Fox has been coaching competitive spirit for nearly two decades.
She took A-C Valley to the state competition 13 years ago — the first year competitive spirit was a sanctioned sport by the PIAA.
Her goal is to keep the team in the hunt for a title year after year.
It all starts with another D9 championship.
“I have to give the kids credit,” Fox said. “I think the kids have tasted what it feels like to win and I think that makes them want to go after it more. It was 13 years ago today that the first states was held and I took the first group (at A-C Valley) there. So, it’s been a run and it’s taken some time and we have built a program. I just hope we can keep that up.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
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