The excitement on Dec. 7 was palpable as the LHS Varsity Cheerleading team placed first in their Regionals competition, officially punching their ticket to head back to Disney World for Nationals for the second year in a row. Reaching nationals is no common feat to achieve in any high school sport, let alone two years in a row, and all members of the team were elated when they realized that their hard work had once again paid off. “To be able to go back to Nationals for a second time with this team is so surreal. We are especially excited to go with the large group of seniors we have competing this year,” explained sophomore Olivia Marafioti.
Throughout their season, the team worked extremely hard to reach Nationals. For example, with each competition, the team changed its routine in order to set it apart from the opponents. Coaches Shayiah Smith and Nina Sasso would also take notes from their Long Island competitions and would implement the judge’s critiques into the team’s new routines. Although switching up the routine each week may have made practice more strenuous, the team had no problem taking on the extra work if it meant getting closer to Nationals. “We will try our hardest to make the cleanest and most difficult routine possible,” explained junior Hayden Rosa.
Last year at Nationals, the team ended its run during the competition’s semifinals. This year, the team is looking to make it even further. When asked about last year’s performance, Rosa said, “Our first year felt like it was just luck that we made it as far as we did; [however], this year really proves the talent and skill our team has.” Similarly, senior Bobbie Applebaum reflected, “We honestly went into this season hoping to go back, and we were pretty confident that we could make it there again, and here we are. [The] other seniors and I have honestly tried to be more supportive of everyone younger than us, and not only to them but to each other as well,” she explained. “We all realized that when you’re mentally in a good spot, you can work better together, so keeping a good mindset is our best method to success,” added Applebaum. She, as well as her fellow senior teammates, has felt a strong responsibility to keep the team’s morale high throughout the competitive process. “I love all my girls on the team to the point where we are all like family, so I truly wouldn’t rather do this with anyone else,” Applebaum said.
The team’s previous experience at Nationals is something that the girls took advantage of. “It’s definitely beneficial to have gone already. It’s like taking the same test twice; you know what you did wrong the first time and can fix it the second time around,” Rosa explained. She went on to explain that the team repeated the same motto at practice each day leading up to Regionals: “If we made it to Nationals with that routine, we will definitely make it this year with this routine.’”
Since Nationals was held at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the team got to escape the cold New York weather and relax in the warm Florida sun for a few days. However, while they were there, it was not all fun and games. In fact, the team still had daily practices to ensure team members could better their routine each day leading up to the competition. “Every day we were there, we would wake up early to practice outside in the Florida heat; once our job was done, then we could go to the [Disney parks or] lie by the pool,” Rosa reminisced.
Overall, Nationals went well for the Lady Owls, reaching the team’s goal of the semifinals and being only two points away from reaching the finals. However, upon looking at the scorecard, the girls were disappointed in how strict the judges’ critiques were. Nonetheless, the team returned to LHS extremely proud of its improvement and success. Rosa is especially confident in the team’s ability to bounce back from losing all its seniors for the upcoming season. “Next year, losing over half our team due to seniors graduating is going to affect us, but I know we will bounce back and find our way back to nationals again,” she said.
