Cheer competes in National Championship

The Samo Cheer squad traveled across the country to Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 6-8 in order to take part in the National High School Cheerleading Championship where they reached the semifinals and placed 12th in their division.The Vikings competed in the Medium Varsity Non Tumbling division, against 29 other teams. In order to qualify, a team has to place in the top 14 out of 29 teams. After their routine on the first day, they made it to semifinals, where only the top 15 teams are able to continue with the competition. However, with some falls throughout the routine, points got taken off, and they finished with a final score of 75.2, while the winning score was 84.5.“All the top teams from across the country go and you have to qualify, which not many teams do,” head coach Nicole Perrine said. “So just being able to qualify is a really big accomplishment.”With all the pressure put on the girls to compete, there was a lot of preparation required to reach a successful outcome.“We had very early morning practices on a huge field at one of the Disney resorts,” varsity cheerleader Sara Cooper (’18) said. “We had to run our routine and our stunts multiple times in front of plenty of other very good teams, which helped us prepare for the real thing.”Staying focused at all times in even the most extreme pressure is a vital asset to the sport. Thus, all their performances whether at games or competitions helped them refine every aspect of their game. According to Perrine, Samo’s Ocean League games allow the girls to get a taste of what it’s like to compete with an audience.The games they cheer for have nowhere near the intensity of competitions. Most competitions are regional in California, but this competition is a very demanding one, with over 700 cheerleading teams from high schools all over the country.“In terms of showmanship, performing in front of a crowd definitely helps,” Perrine said. “They learn sportsmanship and have plenty of enthusiasm.”However, while cheering on other Samo sports teams helps prepare the girls mentally, the long practices and conditioning are what helps them improve their drills and perform at a high caliber.The team has practices that go after school three days a week, with constant rehearsal and repetition of routines.“They run, and do a lot of conditioning here in the gym,” Perrine said. “They run through a lot of ‘full outs,’ which is going through a whole routine full out, and a routine is two minutes and thirty seconds of high intensity cardio and lifting.”This opportunity has given the girls a valuable lesson as their new found experience of playing against top tier teams has helped them develop their skill and provided a bright future for the upcoming years. It was also a great finale for the seniors on the team.“It was a really amazing trip that a lot of us seniors thought we wouldn't get to experience,” captain Julianne Kelly said. “We're all really grateful that we have an awesome coach who truly believes in us. The size of the event and the amount of teams that were there practicing and competing was very overwhelming but hitting a clean routine on the Nationals mat was one of the best feelings in the world.”