Lady Luxe brings home world championship from Florida

    Youth cheer squad Lady Luxe has made history at the Hugz and Fitz Gymnasium in Breese.Lady Luxe from Hugz and Fitz Gym in Breese won the prep 2.2 12U division during the Global World Championships in Pensacola, Florida. The members of the team are, FRONT, FROM LEFT, Clara Eversgerd, Brielle Benhoff, Olivia Holtmann, Baylor Jacob, Zoey Holtmann and Leighton Read and, BACK, are Julie Connelly, Gemma Herley, Berkeley Jacob, Audrey Leach, Lainey Hilmes, Lux Hilmes and Rayna Pigg
    Lady Luxe brought home top honors in the prep 2.2 12U division during the Global World Championships on April 24-26 in Pensacola, Florida. They became the first ever Hugz and Fitz squad to win a national championship.
    They scored a 99.57 to win the competition that featured over 50 teams.
    "We were very excited to win a world championship this year," said 12-year-old Berkeley Jacob from Aviston. "We just put together a really good team and we went undefeated this year."
    Lady Luxe opened the nationals by achieving their high team score following the opening day. On the second day, Lady Luxe were the division champs and the overall level champs. That qualified them for the World Champions round. In the champions round, Lady Luxe hit zero and had a nearly perfect score. They found out during the awards ceremony they had achieved the highest score of the entire competition and were crowned world champions.
    All of the Lady Luxe participants received individual rings and they received a big ring and a banner for the gymnasium.
    "When they announced that we had won the world championship, I could not believe it and was super surprised," said 11-year-old Lainey Hilmes of Breese. "I was super excited when they announced our name for first place. I was able to meet a lot of people plus we won first place at nationals."
    Coaches for the team were Julianne Jacob, Megan Holtmann and Melissa Lampe. Julianne Jacob said she was pleased with how the cheerleaders handled some adversity throughout the competition. On the second day, they had a no-deduction routine despite the music going out in the middle of their performance. On the final day, they were on the mat for warm-ups when bad weather came in and they were pulled off the mat.
    "I was proud of how hard they competed through some adversity," Julianne Jacob said. "Through all of the adversity, they remained unfazed and got the job done."
    It was pure excitement when Lady Luxe was announced as the world champions.
    "I was really excited when they called our name," said 9-year-old Julie Connelly from Damiansville. "I really liked winning the world championships and was excited when we won."
    Clara Eversgerd, an 11-year-old from Aviston, said the championship came because of hard work.
    "We worked very hard all season and we deserved the championship," Eversgerd said.
    Lux Hilmes agreed with Eversgerd.
    "We worked really hard this season," said Hilmes, a 10-year-old from Breese. "I was really excited after they announced we had won and we all celebrated after we won."
    Lady Luxe received a special prize for winning the competition.
    "When we got the world championship, they gave us a rainbow dumpling squishy," said 8-year-old Olivia Holtmann from Aviston. "I really liked the time at the worlds."
    Baylor Jacob said their whole week in Florida was a fun experience.
    "It was a pretty cool week," said Jacob, a 10-year-old from Aviston. "We all shared a big house and we got to hang out all week."
    Zoey Holtmann, a 10-year-old from Aviston, said winning the worlds was a perfect end to a fun week.
    "I was really excited when we won and was screaming with joy," Zoey said. "We all went running into the ocean with our uniforms on."
    Brielle Benhoff, a 9-year-old from Breese, said the Florida trip was a bonding experience for the team.
    "I just really enjoyed being with my team and my friends," Benhoff said. "I was really excited when we won."
    Leighton Read, a 10-year-old from Breese, had the same emotions as Benhoff.
    "I just liked spending time with my friends and family," Read said. "I was very excited when we won."
    Gemma Herley, an 11-year-old from Aviston, said it was a fun week in Florida.
    "I just enjoyed all of the friendships and bonds that we made," Herley said. "I was really excited when they announced that we had won the world championship this year."
    Audrey Leach, a 13-year-old from Aviston, was on her first year on the team.
    "I was really happy that we won and I enjoyed my first year on this team," Leach said. "We were undefeated, so we had a very good year."
    Rayna Pigg, an 11-year-old from Breese, joined in the excitement.
    "I was really excited that we won because we had worked so hard this year," Pigg said. "My favorite part of the trip was just hanging out with everybody and celebrating with everybody after we won."