For the first time under head coach Ms. Heather Gotschall, Community’s competitive cheer team has secured a spot at the IHSA State Finals after earning third place at the Mascoutah Sectional competition on Jan. 31.

Gotschall, in her third season leading the program, guided the Ironmen back to State for the first time since 2019.

The team “had a great routine at Sectionals,” Gotschallsaid, finishing with 86.03 points, behind Sectional champions Bradley-Bourbonnais (91.4) and Joliet Central (88.3).

“I’ve coached many years in the past at different levels,” Gotschall said, “but now that I’m back at varsity, this is absolutely the best that we’ve done as a team.”

For senior Emma Webber, the State qualification is a long-awaited achievement.

“I’m so excited,” Webber said. “It’s so rewarding that it’s my senior year, and this is the first time we get to go. We’ve definitely put in a lot of hard work, and it’s just really rewarding seeing it all pay off.”

That hard work came with challenges, especially early in the season.

“It definitely started off a little rough for us,” Webber said. “We struggled with our stunts at first, for sure, but in the end, we were definitely able to get things together, and it ended up working out perfectly.”

The Ironmen had to overcome more than just technical challenges. Athletic Director Mr. Nic Kearfott said the team dealt with unexpected obstacles along the way.

“They had to handle some adversity,” Kearfott said. “Some unknown things pop[ped] up” this season.

Issues with injuries and eligibility forced the team to make adjustments to their routine and roster before the Sectional competition.

“Coach Gotschall and the team,” Kearfott said, “have done a great job.”

The adversity made the moment Community’s name was announced at Sectionals even more special, senior Lauren Corrington said.

“There was so much joy throughout the team when we heard it,” Corrington said. “They announced fifth and fourth place first, and we thought we hadn’t made it. Then they called ‘Normal Community,’ and after putting in so much work all season without really seeing results, it was just a huge moment for us.”

The Ironmen’s success was the result of months of preparation, with a carefully choreographed routine designed to maximize difficulty and execution.

“We’ve had our goal of what we wanted to compete since the summer,” Gotschall said. “We’ve been making changes [to] try to make it something that is feasible, that the athletes will be able to perform on the mat.”

This season, Community increased the difficulty of its stunts, incorporating three elite stunt sequences into the routine—a first for the program.

“In years past, we’ve, at most, had two elite stunts,” Gotschall said.

The team’s stunting efforts were anchored by bases Corrington and Tessa Pate, with Mia Mateer as the flyer.

Alongside stunting, the Ironmen’s tumbling ability has been a key strength. Senior David Blackmon and Webber have led the way as the team’s top tumblers.

The State appearance marks a milestone not just for Gotschall, but for the entire roster, as no current team member has previously competed at the championship.

With a near-flawless performance at Sectionals—earning zero deductions—Community hopes to refine its execution even further heading into Friday’s State competition.

“We’ll try to clean up our execution and improve our scores even more,” Gotschall said.

For Corrington and her fellow seniors, the competition represents more than just a chance to improve their score—it’s a final opportunity to showcase their season’s work.

“This will probably be our last performance,” Corrington said. “I think we all just want to lay it on the mat and give it everything we have. It’s so rewarding to get to do that at State and in our own town. We just want to finish on a positive note and have a great last competition, especially us seniors.”

The Ironmen will take the mat at Grossinger Motors Arena at 5:30 p.m. on Friday to compete in the preliminary round of the Large School Co-Ed division.