A necessary adjustment by the Lakeland Dreadnaughts was able to put senior Emma Geohagan and her stunt group in a different yet successful position in the UCA High School Nationals at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex on Saturday.
Lakeland head coach Crystal Abdon had to take the boys off the competition mat because the score sheets are different between FHSAA and UCA High School Nationals. FHSAA allows two boys without executing coed skills, whereas UCA does not.
The week before nationals in states, two boys were allowed on the mat, but a week later, that wasn’t the case, so there needed to be a change in nationals.
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The change was successful: Lakeland was able to still execute and score the most points. And in the end, Lakeland claimed its second straight national title. Bartow placed second to Graves County, while Lake Wales was 13th.