Darren Kinnard
Section618.com

BLOOMINGTON — The region was well represented in the Small Team division of the Competitive Cheerleading State Finals in Bloomington, with four out of the 10 teams calling the 618 home.

The Carterville Lions had the top finish for the region. The Lions were sixth after day one and moved up three spots and to bring home the third place trophy. Johnsburg won the championship with Poplar Grove (North Boone) finishing second.

Breese Central moved up four spots to finish fourth. Pinckneyville started and ended the day in seventh. Columbia finished tenth. Waterloo finished 10th in the Medium Team division.

Du Quoin just missed out making the top 10 cut for finals in Friday’s prelims, finishing 11th in the school’s first state appearance. Another squad from the 618, Breese Mater Dei, finished 16th.

For Carterville, it’s been an amazing three-year run under head coach Linda Drust, who last month was the named the NFHS National Coach of the Year for spirit. The Lions won the state championship in 2020 and finished 7th last year. Last year’s state meet was held virtually due to the pandemic.

Here are the final Small Team standings:
1 Johnsburg 94.87
2 North Boone 92.43
3 Carterville 91.17
4 Breese Central 86.73
5 Wilmington 86.13
6 Elgin St. Edward 85.77
7 Pinckneyville 85.63
8 Farmington 84.73
9 Knoxville 84.10
10 Columbia 84.00