MOULTRIE — Ware County was the grand champion among the varsity teams and Colquitt County took first place among the large middle school teams at the South Georgia Cheer Fest held Saturday at the Gladys Espy Memorial Gymnasium.

The competition was the largest of its kind held in Moultrie with 24 squads taking part in varsity and middle school divisions.

The previous largest turnout for the Cheer Fest was 14 squads, Colquitt County competitive cheerleading coach Carrie Parker said.

The Colquitt County varsity team participated, but competed only for a score and not to win a trophy.

Tift County took first place in the Class AAAAA competition. Lowndes was second.

Ware County won the Class AAAA competition over second-place Bainbridge.

Ware County took the grand championship, scoring 246 points.

In Class AAA, Worth County was first and Crisp County was second.

Early County was first in Class AA. Schley County was first among the Class A teams. Turner County was second.

Ware County also won the junior varsity competition.

Colquitt County won the middle school competition’s large division, with Eighth Street Middle School of Tifton finishing second.

Hahira was first in the small middle school category. Lowndes was second. Hahira also was the grand champion.

Parker said she was pleased with her varsity team’s performance.

“It’s tough to compete at home,” Parker said. “You’re never as focused at home.”

Parker said because of her duties in helping to put on the competition, she did not spend as much time with her team as she would have liked.

But her team competed with more difficulty this week and she liked the results.

The Colquitt County varsity team will take part in the Last Chance Cheer Classic at Worth County Hight next Saturday.

Then, on Nov. 7, Colquitt County will compete in the Regionals in Fitzgerald, with a berth in the state meet at stake.

Parker said when her team finished in front of loud and partisan crowd, one of her girls remarked, “That felt good.”

“I told her that’s the way it’s supposed to feel,” Parker said.

Both Parker and middle school coach Carissa Inboden were pleased with the performance of the middle school team.

“The middle school team was amazing,” Parker said. “They hit everything.”

The middle school squad shuttled from site to site last week, trying to find places to practice while sharing gym time with middle school basketball teams.

But in front of the large crowd at the Espy Gymnasium, the squad performed well.

“They did great,” Inboden said. “They were tight and they stuck their pyramid on the floor.

“I’m so proud of them.”

The middle school squad also will compete in the Last Chance Cheer Classic in Sylvester.

Parker, who helped run the meet along with tournament director Stacie Connell, said she was pleased with how smoothly the competition ran.

The middle schoolers began at 11 a.m., with six teams participating in the small team category and four in large team category.

After a judges break, the junior varsity and varsity competition began.

The competition was expected to have 25 teams, although only 24 competed after the Westover coed team dropped out because of injuries.

The gym was filled with enthusiastic crowds throughout the four hours of competition.

“Overall, it ran smooth,” Parker said. “We had a great turnout. Boss Hawg handed out the trophies.

“And the gym was packed all day long.”