GHS Cheer Brings Home 5th Place From Florida

GHS cheerleaders left last Wednesday afternoon and arrived in Florida on the same day to start preparing for the competition.

“We really pushed the girls in terms of practice while in Florida.  Thursday the girls had both a gym practice (at a gymnastics gym we rent space at) and an outdoor practice.  We then went as a team to Epcot and rode Spaceship Earth and Frozen as a team per tradition,” coach Whitney Dawe-Crahen said.  “Friday, we had our traditional outdoor practice, organized by Tina Zamjahn, our head coach, with other teams from Wisconsin, all wearing red Wisconsin shirts. It is an opportunity for the teams to perform portions of their routines for a friendly crowd and to support each other down at Nationals.”

Most of the time spent in Florida was mainly practice, but there was some time to relax and have a good time with their friends as they were staying at Disney World.

On Saturday they performed in the Preliminary competition and they did well enough to advance to the Semi-Finals and then Finals.

“My fondest moments of the trip I would say is actually performing on the final stage against some of the top teams in the nation,” junior Yvett Sanchez said. “I think it was my fondest moment because getting to perform in front of the castle is such a goal for each team and our team was one of few who actually got to do that,”.

There’s a first for everything, and for the freshmen, this was their first Nationals and they had a great time.

“My first Nationals was an amazing experience and I really liked how we had a lot of practice time, but we also had time to relax and have fun at the parks,” freshman Emily Walker said.

Placing 5th in the nation was a huge accomplishment for the girls.

“We performed like we never did before. We had to such much energy when performing, and we all fought so hard to keep our stunts up and to put on a great show. You could see that everyone on the team genuinely liked to perform,” freshman Lea Unruh said.

Going to Nationals is emotional for everyone, but it’s especially emotional for the senior girls.

“I felt like it hasn’t hit me yet; it’s weird to think that this year is my last Nationals. Part of me still thinks ‘oh yeah, next year we should do this or keep this the same’ but then I remind myself I won’t be back and it’s just a bittersweet feeling,” senior Julia Beres said.

The coaches are especially proud of the senior girls this year.

“We had a great group of seniors with a strong work ethic that really helped lead the entire team to keep pushing at all of our practices in Florida, the seniors even pushed for us to add an additional practice,”  Dawe- Crahen said, “Our seniors were an extremely motivated and motivating group, which created a fun but focused atmosphere at Nationals.”

Nationals this year was somewhat different than previous years.

“This Nationals was much more rewarding than last year’s. This season we worked twice as hard to be successful and consistent with our routines. Last year there was only a semi final performance and then a finals performance if your team had made it. However, this year there was a prelims, semifinals and finals the next day granted you made it through to each round,” sophomore Libby Anderson said, “Last year we didn’t do our best the second round and came home with 12th place trophy and came off the mats upset and disappointed. Unlike last year, this year we were much more confident in hitting three solid routines because of the work we put in all season. Because of the determination, worth ethic, and team chemistry, this year we were able to bring home a much higher placement and be ecstatic on how our weekend went.”

The girls really gave it their all on the mats.

“I think the team and I performed amazing! We definitely reached our peak at nationals. In prelims, it was the first time all season that we hit a perfect routine with no falls and no deductions,” sophomore Gabriela Gonzalez said, “It was by far the greatest feeling running off of the mats crying with your teammates because you accomplished something you’ve been working so hard for all season,”.

The coaches and parents are so incredibly proud of the girls for putting their best effort in and can’t wait to see what happens next year!

“It was so awesome to see how much they have all grown in their skills this season showcased on the nationals stage as they performed, and to see their great team chemistry on those blue mats,” Dawe- Crahen said. “I loved their first performance at prelims because we weren’t totally sure what to expect of their performance.  They came out strong and nailed it.  I also love the energy of their finals performance and seeing the girls fight for every stunt – they were not going to let anything come down!”