Two Championship Titles for Cheer

Jessica DeSalvo

The last you heard of your C.W. Post cheerleaders was that the rocky season had ended, and competition was out of reach due to the lack of girls on the team. However, the remaining twelve cheerleaders decided that their dream of competition was still possible this year. They joined a local All-star gym named Island Xtreme in Plainview, New York.

All-star gyms are strictly dedicated for competitive cheerleading teams only. The twelve remaining girls had been placed on Island Xtreme’s open co-ed level six team. The Post cheerleaders joined the existing members to create a team consisting of 23 members. They had only two and a half weeks as a new team to learn, hit and master the routine before the first competition.

“We only had a short amount of time but sometimes it’s best to work under pressure, we all wanted it so bad,” said sophomore Chelsea Parsons who is a member of Post cheerleading team.  Many practices occurred within the short amount of time, confident and ready the team left for their first competition in National Harbor, Maryland.

The competition took place on March 12th and 13th; it was called “Battle at the Capitol” and consisted of many tough competitors.  The Co-ed level six team was up against other teams like Elite Cheer Sensation from Newport News, Virginia and Rockers All Stars from Blacksburg, Virginia. All the teams competed for two days and the judges took the better of the two scores for the results.

The team waited on stage Sunday night for the final results. It was between Elite Cheer Sensation and Island Xtreme for first. Island Xtreme came out on top and won their first competition. “Just the feeling of knowing how hard we worked finally paid off and even through all the ups and downs it was such an amazing feeling to know we finally did it!” said freshman Nicole Deruvo.

The following weekend Island Xtreme attended the “2011 Pot of Gold Nationals” in Hartford, Connecticut. With a final combined score of 8.22 out of 10, Island Xtreme’s open co-ed level six team had yet another championship title under their belt. The twelve Post cheerleaders on this all-star team finally got to carry out their goal of competing. They never expected to immediately take home two championship titles but now they are confident and have goals of being undefeated with all four competitions. With two down, the team is half way there.

April 2nd and 3rd the team will be in Ocean City, Maryland for the “Reach the Beach Nationals.” The weekend after that the team will be competing at a local “ECC All-star Nationals” hosted by St. Johns University.

The Post cheerleaders joined Island Xtreme to prove that anything is possible when you stay dedicated and positive. “I think more girls will want to be a part of the Post cheerleading team because they see how committed and motivated we all are and now we will be appreciated by other athletes in the school,” said sophomore Lisa Sanzo, who hopes that next year these twelve girls can create a successful competitive cheerleading team. They wish to eventually bring home championship titles for C.W. Post, and get our school’s name out there for high school and transfer cheerleader recruits.