April 29, 2004

Despite challenges, Leland spirit squad places fourth at Nationals

By Michelle Gibo
Special to the Times

Last month, the Leland High School Spirit squad placed fourth at the USA National competition in Anaheim. The celebration was especially sweet because the road to nationals was paved with many obstacles for the renowned team.

This year the team consisted of two squads. There were six girls on the varsity squad and 17 girls on the junior varsity squad. Unlike past years, there were very few veterans and instead, many new members. There were only 10 returning members on the team this year.

Receiving the national rank was a great achievement for the squad because they had to overcome many challenges throughout this year. “I thought our team really pulled together and did the best we could despite all of the obstacles throughout the year,” said varsity member Christine Choi. “Although we may have been discouraged or frustrated at times, we always worked together for our common goal: to go to nationals and to do our best.”

In the beginning of the year, the squad started out with 25 members and a second-place regionals trophy under their belt. Then, two months before nationals, they lost their coach, Lindsey Hunt. Shortly after that, they were also unfortunate to lose two assets to the team—two valuable teammates.

It was very difficult returning to practice knowing that two of the teammates were not there. With only a few weeks left before nationals, the squad was very lucky to receive the guidance of two new coaches, Angelica Connely and Niki Fernandez.

They helped the squad make last-minute changes by rearranging formations and adding new stunts. Although the practices were extended to almost three hours, the hard work definitely paid off.

On March 19, the squad competed in the preliminary competition at the Anaheim Convention Center, hoping to defend their national title from last year. The junior varsity squad competed along with the varsity squad under the Varsity Performance Cheer Division. We competed against seven other teams and barely missed the qualification for the finals on Sunday.

“We gave the best performance as a team and when we stepped off the mat we thought we would have placed a lot higher. Getting fourth place was a surprise, but we didn’t stay discouraged and enjoyed our weekend,” stated varsity member Allegra Mascovich.

Five members of the squad also competed in the Group Stunt “A” Division, which was an individual stunt group category. These five girls put in a lot of time and effort perfecting their routine, but were unfortunately unable to place. This was a competitive division consisting of 25 other different stunt groups.

Overall, this year was definitely a building year for the squad, but they pulled through and performed their best. Their coach, Niki Fernandez, exclaimed, “I was proud, very proud of our squad. I thought the girls worked their hardest and did their best. I wouldn’t have changed anything we did!”

The squad also received a lot of support from the school administration. Assistant Principal of Guidance Nancy Dauenhauer stepped in a few months before nationals and became the advisor. Principal Susan Votaw and Assistant Principal of Activities Cliff Mitchell were also instrumental in helping the team. But the girls credit their parents with the most support this season. The parents were the ones who always drove the squad members to practices and cheered along at the games, rain or shine. They were also in the front row when the girls performed at nationals and they were the team’s most vocal cheerleaders.

Although the team lost a coach, two teammates, and suffered many injuries, they still performed at nationals with bright smiles on their faces. They worked their hardest, overcame many challenges and achieved their goal because they did the best they could.

“Even though we didn’t defend our national title, fourth place was still a great success under our circumstances. With a large incoming team next year, I’m sure we will be able to redeem our national title,” said junior varsity member Lisa March.

Michelle Gibo is a student at Leland High School and a member of the Leland Spirit Squad.