Hide Transcript Show Transcript WEBVTT SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN HERE TONIGHT AS PART OF THE HIGHLANDS CHEER SQUAD. THE BLUE HEART ON THE DIGITAL BOARD AT HIGHLANDS HIGH EXPRESSES THE SENSE OF SADNESS HERE. WE’RE TOLD 13-YEAR-OLD LILLIANA SCHALCK WAS NOT ONLY TOP OF THE PYRAMID IN CHEERLEADING, BUT IN EVERY DAY LIFE AS WELL. >> ALWAYS TELLING EVERYBODY TO HAVE A GREAT DAY. THAT WAS KIND OF ONE OF HER THINGS. AND REALLY YOUNG IN AGE, BUT WISE. AND I’M HEARING STORIES FROM THE CHEERLEADERS AT THEIR PRACTICES . SHE WOULD ALWAYS SAY STUFF TO KEEP THE GIRLS GOING. JOHN: WITHIN A SPAN OF TWO HOURS SATURDAY, SHE WENT FROM NOT FEELING WELL TO NOT MAKING IT AT A COLUMBUS HOSPITAL. SHE WAS THERE WITH HER PREMIER ATHLETICS TEAM FOR A NATIONAL COMPETITION. AS BLUE RIBBONS APPEARED THROUGHOUT THE FORT THOMAS-HIGHLANDS COMMUNITY, THE FRANKLIN COUNTY CORONER INFORMED US IT COULD BE SIX WEEKS BEFORE THEY KNOW WHY SUCH A SUDDEN DEATH. SHE WAS A HIGH-FLYER. WITH ALL THAT THE NAME IMPLIES. VERY SKILLED AND ATHLETIC. AT A PRAYER CIRCLE THIS PAST WEEKEND, THE PHRASE FLY HIGH LIL WAS A SAD AND UNIFYING ONE. SHE WAS HIGHLY REGARDED FOR HER ACROBATIC ABILITIES. >> IT WAS THE FIRST TIME WE’D EVER ALLOWED AN EIGHTH-GRADER ON A VARSITY CHEER SQUAD HERE AT HIGHLANDS. SO, QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR HER AND ANOTHER ONE OF HER CLASSMATES THAT MADE THE SQUAD THIS YEAR. JOHN: CHEERLEADERS OFTEN WEAR BOWS IN THEIR HAIR WHEN THEY COMPETE. THEY STARTED HANGING BLUE ONES IN THE COMMUNITY SUNDAY. THE DISTRICT SAYS GUIDANCE COUNSELORS HAVE BEEN BUSY THROUGH THE DAY AND WILL STAY AT HIGHLANDS MIDDLE THROUGH THE WEEK. >> BOTH SCHOOLS, BIG FANS OF LILLIANA AND WE’RE JUST PRAYING FOR HER FAMILY AT THIS TIME. JOHN: HER FATHER, DAN, WAS UP THERE WITH HER WHEN SHE FELL ILL. THE HIGHLANDS O-ZONE IS COORDINATING THE BLUE OUT IN SUPPORT OF THE FAMILY FOR THE TOURNAMENT GAME THAT STARTS AT 8:00. LIVE AT Advertisement Young cheerleader who died suddenly was highly-skilled, beloved by many Share Shares Copy Link Copy There’s a lot of heartache and grief moving through the Fort Thomas-Highlands community in Northern Kentucky at the start of this week.It is what an unexpected death at a young age can deliver. From everything we've been told, Lilliana Schalck was a dynamo, living the way she encouraged others with words like, "Have a great day. "The 13-year-old reached great heights as a competitive cheerleader.She was regularly seen at the top of the pyramid formation which was no small feat for someone so young. Schalck and a classmate were the first eighth-graders to ever make the Highlands high school cheer team. "Lilliana is exactly what we want a Highlands student athlete to be," said Kevin Nieporte, the athletic director at Highlands High. "She's kind and nice to everyone and super-athletic and a fine student. An excellent representative for Highlands High School and Highlands Middle School Cheer. "He related hearing stories from the cheerleaders at their practices about how she would always provide encouragement to keep the momentum going.Parts of the Fort Thomas-Highlands community are beribboned in blue this week.Fort Thomas Independent Schools Superintendent Karen Cheser described her as "beloved by many. "The girl started to feel ill Saturday at a national cheer competition in Columbus.She was taken to a hospital and was dead two hours later. Teammates and other teams gathered in a prayer circle.With ribbons tied to their shoes, they said in unison, "Fly High, Lilly" in mournful conclusion.She was what's known as a flyer in cheerleading, excelling at the most difficult and challenging formations.She was part of the competitive cheer team at Premier Athletics. Nieporte told us cheerleaders were having a tough time. They made a memorial at her locker.A private vigil was held Sunday for friends and classmates.Highlands Middle School had grief counselors in place Monday and they will remain there all week to assist students. On Monday night, the Highlands Ozone is coordinating a "Blue Out" for its 8 p.m. tournament game.The blue heart on the high school's digital marquee is in memory of a little girl with a larger-than-life impact. "Obviously, it's a huge loss for Fort Thomas and her family and the Highlands community," said Nieporte. "Both schools are really big fans of Lilliana. "According to the office of Dr. Anahi Ortiz, the Franklin County Coroner, it will be at least six weeks before a report on the cause of her death is known.<doc-sep>A Kentucky community is mourning the sudden death of an eighth-grade student who complained of feeling ill while at a cheerleading competition in Ohio on Saturday. Lilliana Schalck, a student at Highlands Middle School in Fort Thomas, was taken from the event to a nearby hospital by her father, but her condition quickly deteriorated and she later died, according to the school’s athletic director. MISSOURI BOY CREDITS 'BLACK PANTHER' AND JESUS FOR SAVING HIS LIFE AFTER HE WAS IMPALED BY A SKEWER Schalck was an active cheerleader on both her school’s team and with Premier Athletics NKY, the team she was competing with before the tragedy. The event’s organizers held a moment of silence for her when the news spread, WCPO reported. Several vigils in the cheer community as well as within the Fort Thomas School District have been held in her honor, with many athletes donning blue hearts in a show of support. A tweet and Facebook post sent out to parents and students by the school’s superintendent did not reveal what the teen’s cause of death was, but described her as “beloved by so many.” TEEN'S FOOT ATTACHED BACKWARD AFTER CANCER SURGERY “Tonight one of the kids during our vigil was saying how Lilliana was one of the first people in the lobby, greeting people,” Michael Howton, the teen’s principal told Fox 19. “She didn’t know what they’d do without her. I said do what she did — be there and show that support to others.” Howton told another news outlet that he wanted students to know that it’s “alright to grieve.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I think that’s the message we want to send kids,” he told WCPO. “It’s alright to have that moment of sadness and recognize that you miss your friend, you miss this person that was in our halls every day.” The school said counselors would be available for students this week.<doc-sep>
A 13-year-old cheerleader at a Kentucky middle school died suddenly after getting sick just before a competition on Saturday, district officials said. Lilliana Schalck, an eighth-grader at Highlands Middle School in Fort Thomas, died at a hospital after becoming ill as she prepared to compete at an event in Columbus, Ohio, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Kevin Nieporte, the school’s athletic director, said Lilliana’s health quickly deteriorated once at the hospital, but it wasn’t immediately clear what caused her death, according to the newspaper. “One of our most talented cheerleaders,” Nieporte said of the teen, adding that she competed with the high school’s varsity athletes despite being in eighth grade. “She was the nicest.” Fort Thomas Independent Schools Superintendent Karen Cheser notified parents of Lilliana’s death in a tweet on Sunday. “It is with such sadness that I inform you that we have lost an eighth-grade student,” Cheser wrote. “She is beloved by so many and we know our students will need help through the grieving process.” Counselors will be available to grieving students throughout the week, Cheser said. Lilliana was attending a competition on Saturday with teammates from Premier Athletics of Northern Kentucky, which trains cheerleading, dance and gymnastics teams, according to its website. “Our hearts are completely broken for the Schalck family,” the facility wrote on its Facebook page. Hundreds of mourners held a private vigil at Highland Middle School on Sunday to honor Lilliana’s life, with varsity cheerleaders dropping blue spider mums at the base of a photograph of Lilliana in her uniform, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. “One of our sayings here is caring for yourself, each other and this place,” Principal Michael Howton told the crowd. “It’s really a time to put your arm around somebody and show some support and just provide that shoulder to lean on if needed.” Howton said Lilliana’s death has rocked the tight-knit community. “I think we’re all processing it,” Howton told WCPO. “Even adults struggle with how to feel and how to react to it, so it’s a one-day-at-a-time approach.” Howton said it’s important for youngsters to realize that the grieving process is entirely natural. “I think that’s the message we want to send kids,” he continued. “It’s all right to have that moment of sadness and recognize that you miss your friend, you miss this person that was in our halls every day.” Howton told WKRC that Lilliana was interested in journalism and frequently wrote about sports. She was also often the first athlete to arrive at cheerleading practice — and was quick to greet teammates, he said. “She said they didn’t know what they are going to do now that she won’t be there,” Howton said, recalling what another student told him. “My suggestion is do what she did, be that first person there and show that support to others.” Howton continued: “This is one of those times where we say, ‘Look to your left and right and put your hand and arm around that person and give them support over these few days, next few weeks’ because that’s the way we are going to heal and move forward.”