[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 36 (Wednesday, March 19, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADING CHAMPIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HOWARD COBLE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 19, 1997

  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, as we are in the middle of what is known as 
March Madness, all eyes are focused on the basketball arenas of 
America. An integral part of what makes the game so much fun and adds 
to the fans' excitement are the cheerleaders. These young men and women 
who exhort the crowd to support their team add much to the pageantry of 
college basketball and, for that matter, all sports.
  We are particularly mindful of the contributions that cheerleaders 
make to the enjoyment of all types of sports these days because the 
Sixth District of North Carolina is the home of the 1996-97 North 
Carolina high school cheerleading champions. Southwestern Randolph High 
School [SWRHS] near Asheboro, NC, last month captured the State 2-A 
cheerleading championship. This championship is all the more special 
because it came in the final year of Coach LuEllen Loflin's tremendous 
career at SWRHS. Led by Loflin, the Cougars have won North Carolina's 
2-A cheerleading championship 5 of the past 6 years and 6 of the past 
8.
  As written in the Asheboro Courier-Tribune:

       For the past 15 years, Loflin has been involved as the 
     coach of the varsity cheerleaders, a span of time which has 
     seen cheerleading evolve from a group of girls who jump up 
     during sporting events to a group of skilled athletes who 
     spend hundreds of hours each year perfecting dance routines 
     loaded with acrobatics and precision maneuvers.

  Members of her squad told the Courier-Tribune that Coach Loflin will 
be missed. ``She's a pillar of support and confidence and love and 
friendship and all those wonderful adjectives,'' senior cocaptain 
Christine Copple told the Asheboro newspaper. ``She's one of us,'' 
fellow cocaptain Lisa Sizemore told the Courier-Tribune about Coach 
Loflin. ``We can all go to her and talk about anything. She's a second 
mother to us. Without her, we wouldn't be where we are today.'' Darian 
Walker, the lone male on the team, was pleased to capture another 
trophy for a great coach. ``To come back and win it one more time 
before Miss Loflin left was really great,'' Walker said. ``It was one 
of the best feelings I ever had.''
  In addition to Copple, Sizemore, and Walker, every member of the 
Cougar cheerleading squad is to be congratulated for a championship 
season, including senior captain Melissa Pritchard, and fellow seniors 
Nicki McKensie, Stephanie Stone, and Amy Sykes; juniors Sara Knapp and 
Alicia Miller; sophomores Katie Copple, Misty Cox, Ann Culpepper, and 
Jamie Parrish; and freshmen Kelly Bryant and Marie Nance.
  After 15 years of dedicated service to SWRHS, LuEllen Loflin will 
step down as coach of the cheerleading squad. She leaves a tremendous 
legacy of achievement. On behalf of the citizens of the Sixth District 
of North Carolina, we congratulate Coach Loflin and the Southwestern 
Randolph Cougars for winning the 2-A high school cheerleading 
championship.

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