By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

They made it to the finish line.

A year ago, the LaGrange High cheerleading team was unable to participate in the region and state competitions because it didn’t have enough people to fill a lineup.

It was a disappointing way for the season to end, especially coming off a third-place finish at the 2016 state meet.

Being short-handed hasn’t been an issue this season, and LaGrange will be on the mat on Friday morning in the Class AAAA state sectional in Columbus.

If LaGrange has one of the eight best scores on Friday, it will advance to the state finals on Saturday, also in Columbus.

“I asked the kids what our goal was for the week, and the kids said to have fun. Of course,” LaGrange coach Mike Pauley said. “And I said, how about to have our best score for the year. Our score is going to be a score good enough to win state, but it can be our best score. So, the girls said we can do that.”

While LaGrange may not be a championship contender this weekend, Pauley said “we’ve got a good team of kids, and they’ve had good attitudes from start to finish.”

There are two seniors on the team, WaWa Benn and Carlyse Carter.

After the disappointment of last year, Benn said “it’s really nice” to make it all the way through to the end this season.

“It’s my senior year, and at least we’re going (to state).” Benn said. “We have a full team. Nobody quit on us. I think it’s really good. I enjoy it.”

Carter, who has been cheerleading since the seventh grade, will finish her high-school career on a positive note.

“It’s one of the toughest sports, and we stayed together,” Carter said.

Reaching the state finals will be a tall task, but Benn said “if we fight, and we push, we can have a chance.”

Regardless of whether LaGrange advances to the finals, Benn said “the goal is to have our highest score this year.”