WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange High School cheerleaders took fourth place in the Large Non-Tumbling Division at the National High School Cheerleading Championship held Feb. 10 and 11 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. The NHSCC is the most prestigious championship in the country and is televised nationally on ESPN and ESPN2.
“We had a very successful trip and the coaches could not be more proud of the girls’ two gameday performances this weekend,” head coach Olivia Del Spina said. “The Large Non-Tumbling Gameday Division requires our 18 girls to compete in four components: band dance, situational sideline, timeout cheer and fight song. The team first competed in the semi-final round and were then chosen to advance to the gameday finals. Only half of the teams that competed in the semi-finals round are chosen to advance to the finals and the gameday division has grown in popularity and tripled in size from last year.”
The Mountaineers also made it to the semi-final round of the cheer music routine in the Medium Non-Tumble Division. The team is comprised of 16 girls who compete in a 2.5-minute routine, including a crowd-leading cheer and a music section. More than 45 teams competed in this division.
“The coaches are very proud of the improvements and growth the girls have made in the cheer music routine division. This is one of the hardest skilled routines the program has ever competed in,” Del Spina said.
The team will continue working hard over the next month to prepare for its last two local competitions, ending the season at the NJCDCA State Championship.
“We are looking to defend our state title in the non-tumbling division and for the first time compete in the new state gameday division,” Del Spina said.
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