WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange High School cheerleading team capped off a winning season at the 2016 New Jersey Cheerleading and Dance Coaches Association State Championship at Sun National Bank Center in Trenton on March 6, taking first place in the Varsity Non-Tumbling Division.
Facing tough competition from teams across New Jersey, the Mountaineer State Champions performed flawlessly at the premier competition in the state, which featured more than 120 teams in various divisions, according to a release from the school district.
“This was our first time in attendance at the state competition,” head cheer coach Kimberly Topping said in the release. “The team knew they had more pressure than usual to set a precedent for West Orange. Before they took the floor I told the team that they owed it to themselves, especially the seniors, for their hard work, dedication and commitment over the past four years. They needed to go out there, hit their routine and just have fun and enjoy their love and passion for the sport one last time.”
The championship competition was the final event in the WOHS cheerleading team’s season, which began at Cheer Camp in August. The girls performed at every single football game, at basketball and wrestling matches, in addition to preparing and competing on weekends.
Their hard work paid off with seven first-place finishes in the State Championship, the UCA Northeast Regional Championship in November and SEC Liberty Division Championship in October. They also placed sixth nationally at the UCA Nationals in Orlando in February.
“As their coach, I always remind them that it’s not always about winning but about executing their skills, to the best of their ability, with no error,” Topping said. “There’s no greater feeling than knowing that they reached my expectations, which proved their talent level is strong enough to compete with the best teams in the state of New Jersey.”
Twelve cheerleading seniors will be graduating in June, but the team has plans to work hard to defend their state title in 2017.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling graduating our 12 seniors this season,” Topping said. “I’ve coached the team since they were sophomores and we’ve been through a lot together. I personally wanted nothing more than to see this class go out on top. I’ve watched them train and grow into outstanding athletes and, even more importantly, young, respectable individuals. I know that they all will carry the memories of their West Orange High School cheerleading career with them into their future endeavors and with that experience alone, they are all destined for great things.”
About the Author
