Noki Lam
Sports Editor
Costa Cheer was crowned regional champions for both its game day and traditional team on Saturday at Costa. With the win, the team secured a regional title and received a bid to perform at the Universal Cheerleader Association (UCA) National Championships in Orlando, Florida.
Costa competed in both the super-large division with its Game day team and the large division non-tumbling with its Traditional team.
“This win means so much to us as a team,” said senior varsity captain Zoey Oliver. “We work so hard in practice everyday, and it’s amazing to see our hard work pay off.”
According to Oliver, the team practices daily, running multiple routines a day. On top of practices, the team still stays connected to the South Bay community. In the heat of competition season, the team still attends community events, football games, and other sports games.
“Although competition season can be stressful, we still love going to support other teams on campus,” said Oliver. “Football season is a highlight of the year, and we also use football games as a time to practice our competition stunts in front of a crowd.”
Competing together as a team is not only a way for cheer to show off its skills, but also can serve as a bonding experience, according to junior Maggie Ryan.
“Spending long hours together practicing in the cafeteria is what brings us together as a team,” Ryan said. “We are always supporting each other, and everyday we learn more and more about being a team and better ways to communicate.”
With the regional championship title, the cheer team also bids to the UCA National Competition in Orlando, Florida. Last year, Cheer placed 2nd in the nation with its large division non-tumbling and 10th with its super division non-tumbling. According to Ryan, the cheer team was excited it received bids to Florida, as it is one of the best times of the season.
“We were so excited to hear that we received bids to the National Competition in Florida,” Ryan said. “We plan to work extremely hard for these next few months and try and secure another first-place win.”
Cheer will compete again first on Dec. 2. According to senior Ariana Guzman, the team looks forward to its upcoming opportunities to compete.
“With such a strong team, there is so much we can accomplish,” said Guzman. “We hope to not only succeed in our competition in December, but eventually go on to defend our CIF champion title and become National champions.”
Costa Cheer’s super division non-tumbling team received a score of 83 and its large division non-tumbling team received a score of 81. According to coach Travis Neese, these were the highest scores Costa has ever received at a regional qualifier, and the team executed the most difficult routines it has ever performed. Neese says the teams will be adding difficulty to the Traditional routine to gain additional points for the state and national championships.
“Drilling the skills at practice will ensure consistent routine execution and perfection of those skills,” said Neese. “Keeping the mindset of never settling and showing up each day will be the key to success for the rest of the season.”
According to Guzman, the team is excited to get back into practice and work to improve.
“This is just the start for us as a team,” said Guzman, “I’m so excited to see everything we accomplish this year together.”
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