AHS Cheerleaders Win Championships

Former Alexander High Cheerleaders Celebrate Championship Wins
Posted on 01/26/2022
Two Alexander High friends, united by a lifelong love of cheerleading are celebrating epic wins this month. Bianca McLaughlin and Rickaiya Conyers joined Alexander’s award-winning varsity competition team as freshmen. As they neared graduation, their love for the sport grew, and they each decided to take their skills to the collegiate level. 

McLaughlin made a winning impression, earning a spot on the University of Alabama’s cheerleading team. Conyers also shined, making the University of Georgia’s cheerleading team.

As football fate would have it, Conyers’ first big game as a UGA cheerleader was the College Football National Championship. She describes game night as an exhilarating experience. “I had faith in Georgia from the start of the game,” Conyers says. “We came out strong from the very beginning.” 

In the end, Conyers’ faith was rewarded. The Bulldogs prevailed over the Crimson Tide 33-14. Conyers rejoiced from the sidelines with generations of Georgia fans as the team won its first national title in over forty years.

While the sophomore is hopeful for more national titles from UGA, she believes Alexander equipped her to succeed as a student-athlete. “Being a competition cheerleader at Alexander meant I had to learn organization. The extracurricular activities there taught me how to handle the cheer and academics load in college,” Conyers says. 

McLaughlin learned the same lessons. Like Conyers, her spirits are sky-high following a big win. Her University of Alabama Cheerleading team just celebrated another national cheerleading championship title. It is the third all-girl national championship for the Crimson Tide and the sixth national title for the cheer and dance program. 

McLaughlin says cheering at Alexander also prepared her to win in every area of life. “My Alexander High School cheer experience helped me build stamina, endurance, and discipline. Alexander’s routines are very similar to Alabama’s cheer routines,” McLaughlin says. “The coaching styles are related, and the way the coaches pushed us is very similar.“

Both cheerleaders agree that their support at Alexander was meaningful and has been pivotal in their academic and personal lives. After graduation, Conyers plans to join the U.S. Air Force as a commissioned officer before beginning a career in cosmetic dentistry. McLaughlin plans on attending nursing school and becoming a nurse practitioner. 

Alexander High School Head Cheerleading Coach Lora McAdams says they will succeed no matter what career path they choose. “From the first day I met them, I knew they were special. They were athletically leaps and bounds above their peers,” McAdams says. 
 
Coach McAdams says both girls were a coach’s dream in athletic competition and a teacher’s dream in the classroom. She says it makes her proud to know that she got to be their coach for a small part of their lives. 
 
“Whether cheering in the national championship game for the Bulldogs or competing for a national championship title for the Crimson Tide, these two are Cougars at heart, ” McAdams says. “They will forever be part of the AHS Cougar family.”
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