Noki Lam
Sports Editor
Costa Cheer was crowned regional champions for both their gameday and traditional team on Saturday, Nov.11, at Costa. With the win, the team secured a regional title and received a bid to perform at UCA Nationals in Orlando, Florida.
Costa competed in both the super-large division with their game day team, and large division non-tumbling with their traditional team.
“This win means so much to us as a team,” said senior varsity captain Zoey Oliver. “We work so hard in practice everyday, and it’s amazing to see our hard work pay off.”
According to Oliver, the team practices daily, running multiple routines a day. On top of all the practice, the team still stays connected in the community. In the heat of competition season, the team still attends community events, football games, and other sports games.
“Although competition season can be stressful, we still love going to support other teams on campus,” said Oliver. “Football season is a highlight of the year and we also use football games as a time to practice our competition stunts in front of a crowd.”
Competing together as a team is not only a way for cheer to show off their skills, but also can serve as a bonding experience, according to junior Maggie Ryan.
“Spending long hours together, practicing in the cafeteria is what brings us together as a team,” Ryan said. “We are always supporting each other and everyday we learn more and more about being a team and better ways to communicate.”
With the regional championship title, the cheer team also bids to the Universal Cheerleaders Association National Competition in Orlando, Florida. Last year, Cheer placed 2nd in the nation with their large division non-tumbling and 10th with their super division non-tumbling. According to Ryan, cheer is extremely exciting they received bids to Florida as it is one of the best times of the season.
“We were so excited to hear that we received bids to the National Competition in Florida,” Ryan said. “We plan to work extremely hard for these next few months and try and secure another first place win.”
After Florida, Costa cheer will enter another competition on Dec. 2nd. According to senior Ariana Guzman, the team looks forward to their upcoming opportunities to compete.”
“With such a strong team there is so much we can accomplish,” said Guzman. “We hope to not only succeed in our competition in December, but eventually go on to defend our CIF champion title.”
Costa Cheer’s super division non-tumbling team received a score of 83 and their Large Division Non-Tumbling team received a score of 81. According to coach Travis Neese, these were the highest scores Costa has ever received at a regional qualifier and executed the most difficult routines we have ever performed. Neese goes on to say that the teams will be adding difficulty to the traditional routine to gain additional points for the state and National Championships.
“Drilling the skills at practice will ensure consistent routine execution and perfection of those skills,” said Neese. “Keeping the mindset of “never settle” and showing up each day will be the key to success for the rest of the season.”
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