St. Joe cheerleaders earn ninth at state
For the first time since 2013, Port St. Joe sent a competitive cheer squad to the FHSAA State Finals, with their routine earning ninth place in the Class 1A Small School category last Wednesday, Feb. 2.
Coached by Stephanie Petersen and Lindsay Summerlin, the young Tiger Sharks secured a trip to the finals in Gainesville by finishing second at the regional competition held at West Nassau High School on Jan. 21.
“This is the first time ever for (the school) to compete in the tumbling division,” said Summerlin. “We couldn’t be more proud.”
The 13 girls on the squad are junior Taylor Campbell; freshmengraders Hailyn Levins, Kiyleh Parker, Sunny Shearer, Leila Smith, Lia Taylor, and Lilli Williams; eighth graders Ava Davis, Hannah Petersen, Reagan Thomas, and Ruby Williams; and seventh graders MaKayla Hopper and Javana Pearson.
With the team having no seniors, Summerlin noted that it was “time to put the work in to build off the (success of) this season.”
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.