Tracy cheerleaders capture first in national competition
Tracy High’s competition cheer team poses with the first place trophy at the national competition in Las Vegas.
March 13, 2014
Tracy High School’s competition cheer team finished in first place in the U.S. JAMZ National Championships in Las Vegas on Feb. 21.
After three years of competing, Tracy High earned a score of 90.73 percent finishing in front of Roosevelt High School and Hanford High. The two other teams that competed were Nogales High School and Saint Anthony High School.
“It felt absolutely amazing winning and I am very proud of them,” cheer coach Sheila Soares said. “They worked very hard and the win was well deserved.”
This is their first year that Tracy High captured the championship in the JAMZ competition.
“I felt accomplished,” senior Arielle Tabar said. “During the past three years of my cheer experience, I finally achieved something big.”
Throughout the years, the team has inched closer to the title. Before competing in JAMZ, the team competed in nationals at Disneyland where they finished in fourth place. In 2012, the team finished third and in 2013, the team finished second.
“I felt like winning made all the struggles we have gone throughout the season worth it,” senior and captain Brianna Hernandez said. “It was also nice to finally win during my senior year.”
The team is made up of 21 students lead by captains Karlie Brown, Lauren Shankel, and Hernandez. Students are only able to participate on the competition team if they are on the school cheer squad.
“I was very confident going into the competition and looking at the teams we were performing against,” Soares said. “As long as we executed the routine, there would be no problem winning.”
To prepare for the competition, the team started learning choreography last July. Tracy has been practicing and participating in other smaller competitions leading up to nationals. The day before the team left for Las Vegas, a performance was held for anyone who wanted to see their routine, which served as a final practice.
“We spent almost everyday in the gym conditioning and running the routine,” Soares said. “I also coached them along the way, so they knew what they needed to work on to obtain the win.”
The cheer season for next year is ready to get underway. An informational meeting discussing the important details of the upcoming season will be held on March 17 at 6 p.m. in the Tracy High cafeteria. Try outs will occur on March 24-26.
Practices are run by the graduating seniors on team and they will lead the students into a warm up. The seniors teach a routine and a cheer. On the day of tryouts, the prospect is required to perform the cheer, dance, and do their best jump.
