Shadow Ridge’s cheer team has always had a reputation for being a skillful team. This year was no different. At this year’s USA Spirit Regional competition, for the first time in the Cheer team history, they received four first place titles. Led by coach Alyssa Pezone, she says “I am really proud of our athletes for persevering and always being humble about their performances. Cheerleading is extremely time consuming and demanding on the body, so it can be hard to stay focused after 4 months of work! I am also extremely proud of my assistant coach, Coach Sheridan; she is an SRHS cheer alumni and coaches Varsity and the Game Day teams. Her merit should not go unnoticed.”
The competition took place on January 6 and was held at Desert Oasis High School where the Mustangs competed against dozens of other schools and as Shadow Ridge cheerleader Travis Pangelinan put it, “The schools we competed against brought some heat.”
At the competition, they competed and placed first in four divisions, JV Cheer, Varsity Cheer, Fight Song, and Crowd Leader. Understandably, the cheerleaders were a bit nervous heading into the competition, especially considering that if a team scores high enough they qualify for USA Spirit Nationals where they will compete to become national champions.
“A favorite performance of mine would most definitely be Crowd Leader! Our performance for that division is just so much fun and it looks amazing on the mat,” says Pangelinan.
Their performances earned some of the highest scores throughout the competition and after a day full of cheering SRHS cheer was full of emotions when their places were announced. Coaches and cheerleaders alike both described being in “utter shock” when receiving their plaques.
“I had faith in us […] My team and I were jumping up and down, screaming, and crying because of our win, says Pangelinan.
Due to their 4 1st place titles and high scores, the Shadow Ridge Cheer Team qualified for USA Spirit Nationals which they will attend through February 15th-18th in Anaheim, California.
