The national ranking cheer squad demonstrated that hard work and dedication does pay as with junior varsity brought home the second place trophy and varsity took sixth place during the USA Nationals Cheer Competition, held at the Anaheim Convention Center, on the weekend of March 26.

“We’re expected to do good, so we’re just hoping that all our pyramids go up and that we bring a lot of energy,” Hayle Pena said.

This year the Varsity Cheer Squad competed against 25 other schools from across the nation. Their spirited routine was themed your all that I want and consisted of intricate pyramids, skillful tumbling, and creative dances. Both varsity and JV worked very hard practicing several hours both during and after school. At Nationals varsity gave it their all, and although they faced tough competitors, managed to make finals and ultimately place sixth in the nation.

“We have a great routine, so as long as we hit everything we’ll do good,” Giovanna Dan said.

JV lived up to their theme it’s all about me with their fierce, diva routine. Although lacking many stunts and tumbling difficulty, they were able to embrace their performance skills and made up for it with their energy, facials, and sharpness in the dance section. Out of 14 squads they were able to place second.

“We performed our best and we honestly thought we were going to do better, but we still did very good,” Nicole Vasconez said.

In the end the cheer squad put on a memorable performance at the USA Nationals Cheer Competition. They were a crowd favorite and walked off the stage with confidence and high hopes for next year.