FOXBURG — The A-C Valley competitive cheerleading team’s trek back to the PIAA State Cheer Championship started last summer in the suffocating conditions at Clarion University’s Tippin Gymnasium.

Working on stunts for competition with no air conditioning made the workout seem more grueling.

“It was hot,” Falcons senior Michaela Callander said. “We’d slide off each other. It was awful.”

A-C Valley turned its summer work into a District IX title.

The Falcons edged out Keystone last Saturday at DuBois High School to win their first district title. A-C Valley had never beaten the Panthers before.

Karns City also finished in fourth place and qualified for PIAAs.

The state tournament will be held Jan. 23-24 at the Giant Center in Hershey.

“It means so much to bring home a district title in a sport not a lot of people feel is a sport,” senior Melanie Lewis said. “This was something we’ve wanted for years. That was my goal.”

This will be the Falcons’ third straight trip to states. In the past, A-C Valley, which is in the medium division, never got called back for the second day.

The Falcons’ focus is to get through what should be a crazy week and earn a spot in the second day. A-C Valley has three basketball games to cheer at before heading to Hershey.

Callander feels this group is suited to handle the pressure.

Before districts, they found ways to handle the stress.

“We were playing songs and singing and dancing before we went on,” Callander said. “Our focus wasn’t on what we were doing. Our focus was on being a family and having fun before we go out.”

Senior Sadie Longo, who missed last year’s competition due to a broken arm, also plays basketball.

She will be leaving for the competition after playing a basketball game Thursday night.

“It’s difficult sometimes, but the coaches are good about scheduling practices around each other,” Longo said. “The only thing that might not get done is my homework, but I have study halls to get that done.”

A-C Valley coach Stacey Lewis knows the week before is always tough.

With basketball games and practices, her kids normally get to school at 7:30 a.m. and don’t leave school until around 9 p.m.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” Lewis said. “We’re just working on cleaning up the routine and fixing the things we saw during the (district) competition that needed fixed.”

A-C Valley senior Casey Borland thinks their group works well together as a unit. At the Clarion University camp, the theme was #beone.

“Sticking together and having precision on our stunts,” Borland said. “We need to make sure we’re all thinking as one instead of thinking as a bunch of different heads.”

Lewis is ready for A-C Valley’s challenge. She’d love to bring back a state title to go with the Falcons’ district crown.

“I think this year we have a great shot of making callbacks,” Lewis said. “We hired a new choreographer this year and she motivated us to do better. Girls didn’t have confidence before. ... This year we have a good shot at making callbacks.”