April 28, 2003 – ORLANDO, FLORIDA
You've all seen her on the sidelines on Friday nights or in front of a packed house in the gymnasium during basketball games. You probably know her as the little girl doing those crazy flips we'd never dream of trying, not without something soft to land in anyway.

She's the captain of the cheerleading team for football, basketball and the competition squad. She choreographs the dance routines and has become the envy of every little Covington girl dreaming of becoming a cheerleader.

Her name is Hollie Hitchcock, a young lady from Covington, Ohio that took the National Cheerleading Competition in Orlando, Florida by storm.

Hollie and her family made the trip to Orlando for a 2 minute opportunity of a lifetime. What transpired in that 2 minutes transformed a small town girl into the third best cheerleader in the nation. Hollie came home with a third place trophy and motivation for a return trip to Orlando next year.

"Hollie was actually disappointed after her performance," described her father, Al Hitchcock. "She thought she didn't give her best routine. She's so hard on herself, but once it settled in she began to realize what she had done."

"The tears were flowing when she finished her routine," continued Hollie's mother, Deb. "She was disappointed that she didn't try a couple of moves she had planned in her routine."

It didn't take long for the tears of disappointment to turn into tears of joy. All it took was finding out she was one of the finalists.

"They chose the finalists and called them back to the stage for the awards ceremony," continued Deb. "We didn't know where she placed until they were on stage. We are thrilled she was even selected as a finalist."

To understand why Hollie was disappointed in her performance, you have to consider what type of kid she is and what she went through to get to where she is today.

Hollie has participated in high level competitions before, not in cheerleading, but gymnastics. She has always placed in the top eight in world gymnastic competitions such as the Buckeye Classic.

"You should see here room," chuckled Deb. "It's full of trophies from gymnastics. She competed in some very big tournaments and did very well."

To get to that level Hollie has suffered through countless injuries that would make a football player cringe. She has suffered a broken arm, broken foot, torn muscles in her back and numerous sprained ankles. All of this from training 18-20 hours a week for 13 years in gymnastics.

Her competitive nature and gymnastic skills is what benefited her in her trip to Orlando, but that didn't prepare her for the amount of nerves she experienced.

"Oh, I was really nervous," laughed Hollie. "When I got on stage and looked out into that big crowd; I only knew three people, my mom and dad, and Dusty (Rhoades). I was nervous throughout my entire routine. I was so nervous I thought I was going to pass out."

Now that her accomplishment has sunk in, what's in store for Hollie Hitchcock.

"I want be a cheerleader at Ohio State," said Hollie. "Before that though, I want to go back to Orlando next year. It was an awesome experience. There were kids there that compete in cheerleading competitions all over the United States so I'm proud to have finished third, but I want to do better next time."

Who says a cheerleading isn't competitive?

| 2003 Covington Cheerleaders |