By Marty Gordon
The Virginia High School League has announced its 2021 Class 2 all-state cheer team, and it includes two cheerleaders from Auburn High School. Kylee Turman was named first-team, and Laureen Bittinger was named second-team.
Twenty individuals were chosen on the first team, and 20 individuals were selected for the second team. Only those individuals ranked one through 10 to all-region teams were eligible for selection to the All-State team.
Turman started all-star cheer with Valley Elite All-Star when she was eight years old and has been active all four years of high school. The Auburn senior said she feels honored to be named to the all-star listing.
“It took a lot of hard work and dedication to the team,” Turman said. “I’ve been cheering since I was eight years old, so taking all the information I’ve learned over the years and being able to help my teammates was so worth it.”
Bittinger started cheering as a sideline cheerleader when she was five. “I’ve always wanted to cheer for my high school, and now that I am it’s so amazing and so much fun,” she said. Bittinger is a sophomore at Auburn High School.
Being named all-state feels unreal to Bittinger. “I’m so thrilled about it, though,” she said. “To get to this spot takes a lot of dedication, and I have found it helps to have a motivation. For me my motivation was wanting to win.”
The Auburn competition team finished in second place in the region competition, which was won by Riverheads, the region representative at the state level. Auburn nevertheless qualified two athletes for All-State recognition because of the Eagles’ placement in the region.
Both Turman and Bittinger hope to cheer in college.
