The bus that was supposed to pick them up never arrived, despite thousands of dollars being paid ahead of time to cover their travels. The team is from Kankakee and is competing in Tampa this weekend.
The ABC7 I-Team uncovered information about the bus company, and who's now helping them make the trip.
Jilted by their pre-paid interstate ride to the championships, young cheerleaders splayed out across the stone cold floor of their Kankakee school late into Thursday night.
"The worst part is sitting there waiting," cheer mom Antrinette Williams said. "Waiting anxiously for a bus that never come."
Per contracts sent to ABC7 by both the Kankakee Elite Cheer squad president and P&J Luxury Liners, they'd agreed on $10,000 to bus the team to Tampa for the tournament.
Bank records sent by the team show $2,500 went to the bus company's owner, Samuel Parks, on November 20 as a deposit.
On Tuesday, the day before pickup, Kankakee Elite's President Seyborn Billings says he handed the bus owner another $5,000 cashier's check.
"Wednesday, I get a text message saying, 'hey, one of my drivers had a heart attack, can we push the time back until we locate another driver?'" Billings said.
Hour after hour ticked by.
"I called him over 100 times," Billings said. "I had the text messages, 'please I'm begging.' He didn't answer. I got 40 plus young ladies standing here, crying, and I don't know what to do."
Any sparse response came with a promise of bus or driver that never came.
The ABC7 I-Team found records from the Illinois Secretary of State's Office that show P&J Luxury Liners dissolved in June of 2023. Department of Transportation records show the company is unauthorized to operate.
Images of the near hopeless cheer stars gripped Holiday Bus Tours owner Freida Wagner, who not only sent one of of her own buses to the squad's rescue, but also loaded and board for the 20-hour trip.
"They were excited," Wagner said. "Everybody was jumping up and down and really in a hurry."
SEE ALSO | Chicago Public Schools cancels trip to national chess tournament, says protocols 'were not followed'
"She is like heaven sent," cheer mom and grandmother Cynthia Brackins said. 'Oh my God. It's like a miracle."
Parents and the team are now cheering through the dark journey, re-focusing on the goal of bringing a trophy home.