APS Squads Dominate Metro Cheerleading Competition

Benjamin E. Mays High School won the high school Class AAAAA and Grand Champion titles at the fifth annual Atlanta Public Schools Metro-Atlanta Cheerleading Competition held last Saturday at Mays.

A cardinal rule in any competitive sport is this: Protect your house! Never lose at home!

Last Saturday, the Benjamin E. Mays competitive cheerleading squad did just that at the fifth annual Atlanta Public Schools Metro-Atlanta Cheerleading Competition held in the Mays High School gym.

The Raiders won the Class AAAAA championship and were crowned the event’s high school “Grand Champion,” an honor awarded to the best overall squad in any cheerleading competition. KIPP Vision won the Grand Champion title in the middle school division of what has become the top cheerleading competition in metro Atlanta.

Approximately 4,500 spectators packed Mays’ gym to see the high school and middle school competitions, according to APS Assistant Director of Athletics Rendell Jackson. He said the event started five years ago as just a middle school event. A high school division was added the following year and the fan interest, number of teams, and level of competitiveness has grown steadily each year.

Inman Middle School won the middle school Class AA title in the competition.

More than 30 teams combined participated in the event, which served as the perfect warm up for this weekend’s region competitions. Those squads advancing out of the region will qualify for the sectional and state competitions, November 13-14 in Columbus.

“This was the most competitive middle school competition we’ve ever had,” Jackson said. On the varsity level, Jackson said Mays took the Class AAAAA title back from Martin Luther King Jr. High School in DeKalb County, the 2014 winners.

“The year before (2013), Mays won,” Jackson said. “MLK won last year but this year Mays came back and won again. It’s a good, competitive rivalry. The level of competition and the level of recognition of our event has grown so much over the past five years.”

Ralph Bunche Middle School won the middle school Class AAA title in the competition.

HIGH SCHOOLS
Grand Champion: Mays

Division	First Place	Second Place	Third Place
Class AAAAAA	*Westlake (Fulton County)
Class AAAAA	Mays	Martin Luther King (DeKalb)	Morrow (Clayton County)
Class AAA	Douglass	Jackson	Washington
Class A	*Drew Charter
Varsity Co-Ed	Therrell	South Atlanta	Grady
Junior Varsity	Mays	Grady	Morrow (Clayton County)
JV Co-Ed	*Therrell

*Denotes only school competing in that division.

MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Grand Champion: KIPP Vision

Division	First Place	Second Place	Third Place
Class A	KIPP Vision	Drew Charter	Price
Class AA	Inman	Martin Luther King (APS)	Harper-Archer
Class AAA	Bunche	Young	Henry County