Davis High cheer team goes to Nationals

By Meem Mohsin,

HUB Staff Writer–

 

Davis High’s Blue Devil cheer team has made it into Nationals once again.

Every team starts by competing at regional competitions. If they get a high enough score, then they qualify to go to Nationals, which will be held in Anaheim. The cheer team has qualified at both competitions and took home first and second place. At Nationals, they compete against around 25 teams. They get two and a half minutes to impress the judges with their stunts, tumbling, jumps, and dances. The teams in the top 25 percent qualify for the finals.

Senior Elisa Nelson is bittersweet about going to Nationals for the third year in a row. “I’m really excited to go to Anaheim because it’s such a fun experience. We spend four days together doing what we love and we also take a trip to Disneyland. You can’t go wrong with that,” Nelson said.

Nelson claims some of her best memories of high school have been made on this trip, but at the same time, it’s extremely upsetting this year because this her last time going, the last time she’ll get to spend time with her team and her last time doing a cheer performance.

The cheer team prepares for Nationals by practicing for two hours, four times a week. Every day, they practice making their routine more difficult and make sure everything is right. “The smallest mistake can keep us from making it into the finals. Everyone has been putting in all they can to make our team better; from girls going to open gym to making our own tumbling better, hitting our motions sharp, to our flyers stretching every day to make their flexibility more impressive,” Nelson said. She believes everyone is doing their part to improve the team.

The Davis High cheer team has never made it into the finals, so naturally, Nelson wants to change that. During her sophomore year, they were only two places away from making it to the finals. Last year they were 0.8 points away from making it to finals. She claims the team has been working incredibly hard to make their routine flawless and she believes if they perform like the way they practice, this will be the year they finally make it.

“I’m really proud of my team so far. They’ve been working really hard and so far it’s paid off. I think getting first place last weekend showed the girls how much potential we have, and if we keep working our hardest we can make history in our program and make it to finals,” Nelson said.

Unlike Nelson, freshman Alyssa Vitangcol is going to Nationals as her first year on cheer team. Vitangcol feels exceedingly prepared for going to Nationals. “It was very rewarding to know that from last week’s competition, we won first place competing again much bigger teams,” Vitangcol said.

To prepare, Vitangcol stretches herself even while watching TV or doing homework just to make sure she can perform the best of her ability. “The funny thing is, I can even practice my dance while walking in the school,” Vitangcol said.

Her goal for this year’s nationals is to try more than her best, to work even harder and become even better. “I want to put out my all. I want to achieve more self-confidence and to believe in myself knowing I can achieve anything I put my heart to,” Vitangcol said.

She claims this team is her family. They are always there for her, encouraging her to never give up. She feels just by being on the team, her confidence got a bigger boost. “Nationals will be so exciting and I can’t wait to amaze the judges with my amazing family,” Vitangcol said.