OCEAN CITY — As an early holiday gift, Kent County High School brought home the first-place banner from the Ocean City Christmas Open cheerleading competition, beating out a school from the western shore for the title.
Calling themselves the Gold Rush Nine, the team was comprised of nine competition cheerleaders from the fall and winter squads. Two of the members, Aaryona Wesley and Talicia Wright, also are varsity basketball players.
They practiced together for only five weeks, which is not very long compared to the months most competition routines take to perfect.
The competition was held Dec. 6 at the Ocean City Convention Center.
The Gold Rush Nine competed in the Cheer & Dance Extreme High School novice division.
High school cheer categories are divided into three levels — novice, intermediate and advanced — based on tumbling and stunting skills.
Judged on creativity, difficulty, timing, stunts, tumbling, showmanship and dance, Kent County High School earned 91 points out of a possible perfect score of 100.
Head coach Tilise Brown said this was the first cheerleading competition won by KCHS since the spring of 2006, when she competed as a freshman.
The Gold Rush Nine are juniors Tatayna Copper, Julissa Sheppard, Aaryona Wesley and Talicia Wright; sophomore Amiyah Roberts; and freshmen Sophia Espinosa Westcott, A’Shia Davis, Miley Mincey and Ayryonna Roberts.
Wright was the fall season captain and team MVP; she also is the competition team captain.
LaToya Johnson and Taliyah Russell are Brown’s assistants. All are KCHS graduates.
Brown and Johnson have been coaching together at Kent County High School for three seasons.
Russell also coaches cheer at the middle school level. She is a special education teacher at Kent County Middle School.
Brown is the counseling secretary at KCHS.
Johnson is employed by Wraparound Maryland. She is a former front office secretary at Kent County High School.
Johnson, Russell and Brown also coached together with the Spartans youth program when Brown was the cheer commissioner.
