On Saturday, Nov. 16, McIntosh’s competitive cheer team won their 2024 Georgia High School Association (GHSA) 5A state championships. The team won their last title in 2022, but this year’s win adds to the eight other titles they’ve received years prior, their first being awarded in 1995. 

Head Coach Shannon Bednarowski shared a written statement regarding the team’s success. 

“Winning the State Championship is always an amazing feeling, knowing all of your hard work, time, dedication, and effort has paid off! It reinforces [that] if you want something bad enough, are willing to put in the work, make the sacrifices and not [expect] anything less than your best, you can accomplish your dreams,” Bednarowski said.

Zamanta Rios Madrid, a sophomore and a member of the varsity competitive cheer team, shared her excitement about the team’s accomplishment. 

“I am very happy that we won state [championships]. It was a redemption season from last year because last year we did lose, but I’m very happy, and I hope we can do it again,” Rios Madrid said. 

Rios Madrid expresses that bonding with the team was one thing that was easy this season. 

“For me this year it’s easy [because] our team had a very good bond so that was like easy bonding.”

Rios Madrid also shared what she thought was the most difficult part of what they worked for this year. 

“[The hardest part], I think [was] just getting our routine ready for competition,” Rios Madrid said.

Coach Bednarowski also shared the team’s theme for this season. 

“This year, our theme was “walk,” meaning don’t just “talk the talk” but “walk the walk”! This team worked incredibly hard and held themselves personally accountable to get their jobs done and not earn the team any deductions,” Bednarowski said.