Cheer Places Second at States and Heads for Nationals
Meredith Seeber
Staff Writer
The varsity cheer team walked out of the Giant Center on Saturday January 29th wearing silver medals, just 1.4 points short of their shot at gold. The five-time PIAA champions and defending UCA National Champions felt they did what they needed to win their sixth title, so, should Cumberland Valley have won gold?
“Our routine is more difficult than [Hempfield] so we should’ve scored higher, but unfortunately we didn't. We were definitely hurt when we found out about second, we thought our routine was worthy of a gold medal. That’s the thing about cheerleading, there are so many positives to it, but the negative aspect is that someone determines whether or not you’re worthy of placing on the top and judges you based on how they perceive you,” Senior Captain Casey Segin said.
Cumberland Valley certainly did not disappoint in their performance at States. The dedication to make their set perfect even included having the Cumberland Valley Girls Basketball team watch as they rehearsed their routine. The pressure was on for these girls, but they did everything they could in practice to succeed at States.
“The team was more than prepared for PIAA States. Running full outs constantly as well as bringing in other CV sports teams to come watch and add pressure before we perform. Adding pressure to practices is what made us successful and ready for States,” Senior captain Casey Segin said.
The team had received zero deductions for their difficult routine. Morale was high, but it was promptly curbed during the awards ceremony when Cumberland Valley was awarded second place to Hempfield High School.
Many other cheerleaders and spectators drew a similar conclusion to Segin’s perspective; however, this team must move on because next up is tackling UCA Nationals in Disney World.
“After our performance I just had to keep the team calm and told everyone to keep their heads up high. People want us to crumble and see how much this hurt us, but because of that we have a fire lit underneath us. We are not backing down and not taking anything other than gold at Nationals,” Segin concluded.
With the frustration that resulted from States came an acceptance and a new point of view from these Cheerleaders. Cumberland Valley Cheer is not over yet, and these girls will not stop until they bring home gold.