Local cheer teams compete in FHSAA States

Winning the state championship once is a remarkable feat. Winning states back-to-back is even more impressive and enough to go down in history as one of the greats. 

Windermere High competitive cheer team now can say it has done just that. 

The defending state champions competed in the FHSAA Class 2A Small Varsity State Championship Thursday, Jan. 22. By only a 0.5 point differential, the Wolverines, aka the Lime Ladies, beat out Tate High to become the 2026 state champions. 

As Windermere’s name was announced as the state championship, the girls rose to their feet, jumping and celebrating their remarkable accomplishment. 

Windermere earned 34.9 points in the building category, which judges the team’s execution of stunts, pyramids and tosses in a routine; 32.6 points for the cheer category; and 20.6 points overall. The team’s final score was 88.10. 

The Lime Ladies’ cheer, “LI (clap, clap) ME, it’s lime time. Fans stand up, yell, WHS, WHS. Fans stand up, yell lime, navy, white,” ricocheted throughout the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida. 

Windermere entered states on trajectory for success. The Lime Ladies placed first in FHSAA Region 2 Small Varsity and automatically qualified the team for finals in states. The team followed the same pathway last season and made history by heading straight to finals for the first time. Typically in cheer, teams have to compete in state semifinals and qualify for the finals competition later in the day. 

Since the Lime Ladies’ program birth in 2018, the team has won three state championships, in 2023, 2025 and now 2026. It also has finished as four-time state runners-up in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022. 

The team also finished in second place at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship — the largest cheerleading competition for high school teams with more than 100 participants — last year. Windermere will head back to compete in nationals Friday, Jan. 30, to Sunday, Feb. 1, at ESPN Wide World of Sports. 

OTHER RESULTS

CLASS 2A

• West Orange High also competed in the FHSAA Class 2A Small Varsity lineup. The Warriors’ journey ended in the semifinals with 78.40 points and fourth place. The team also will prepare to compete in nationals. The Warriors earned a state title in 2024 in Small Varsity. The team recorded back-to-back state championships in 2012 and 2013 when it competed in the Large Co-ed Division. 
• Horizon High competed in the 2A Small Non-Tumbling Division and placed third in the finals with 82.60 points. The Non-Tumbling Division prohibits running or standing tumbling to prioritize stunts, pyramids and dance. Routines also are 30 seconds shorter than traditional All-Star routines. In the Hawks’ first competition of the season, the team earned a first-place finish in the 2025 Eagle Jamboree Cheer Competition.
• Ocoee High placed seventh in the finals of the Medium Non-Tumbling Division with 77.80 points. The Knights earned a first-place finish in the semifinals to push themselves there. Ocoee is a two-time state champion, two-time state runner-up and six-time regional champion. The team finished in first place this season at the Huskey Cheer Challenge at Hagerty High School in December. 
• Olympia was the only local team in Class 2A to compete in the Large Varsity Division. The team finished in sixth with a final score of 76.40 points. In regionals, Olympia finished in the top three. The Titans never have won a state championship; the team came close in 2011 and 2012 as state runner-up. 

Class 1A 

• Windermere Prep’s competitive cheer team competed in the Game Day Division — a replication of what you would see on the football sidelines, with offense and defense — and finished fourth in semifinals. The Lakers advanced to the finals where the team placed in third overall with 85.20 points. It was the team’s second time competing in the new division. In 2020 the Lakers finished as state runner-up. 
• The defending World Champions, Foundation Academy qualified for the Large Non-Tumbling Finals and skipped over the semifinals. In finals, Foundation finished second overall with 83.30 points. The Lions won nationals and worlds in 2024, FHSA States four times, Regional Championship five times and came in 18th in UCA Gameday in 2024.