On January 19, the varsity cheerleaders made the trip down to Dallas, Texas, for the long-anticipated Nationals competition. In the weeks leading up to the competition, the team amped up their practice, practicing every day.

Team Captain Taniyah Brown said it took “determination and willingness to work through pain and stress.”

The team competed in the small all-girl division, which is the hardest division in the competition.
January 22 was the most important day of the competition, as Sunday’s performance was worth the most points.

The intensity was high as all the girls prepared to perform on the most important day of their trip.

“You have to be mentally strong for competition like this because there are many teams that want exactly what you want,” Brown said.

Senior and captain Selena Riede had a mixture of emotions during the competition.

“I knew this was my last performance with this team but during it, I was just really excited to be able to have an opportunity like this,” she said.

Both of the captains were excited about the competition, but also were supporting the team members that might have made mistakes afterward.

“I’m not nervous or excited just trying to stay calm for my team, same for before and after. If I know we didn’t do as great, I try to comfort those who need it,” Brown said.

For Riede, even if she makes a mistake during the performance, she keeps going.

“It takes your whole heart and soul to push, fix and motivate those around you to be able to perform. You have to have that fire or passion to get back up even if you fall down,” Riede said.

While the team didn’t place on this trip, the competition brought them together and gave an opportunity for the seniors to perform one last time.