In the just three short seasons Alexis Martonik has been the head coach of the cheerleading program here at Penn-Trafford High School she has seen the team have great success, and this year was no different as the two competitive teams both secured their spot at the National High School Cheering Championships (NHSCC).
There are three different “teams” of cheerleaders at P-T: a sideline team made up of 41 girls that cheer at the football games and other sporting events; a competition team called “gameday squad” that specializes in things like chants; and a second competition team called “traditional squad” that specializes in moves like stunts.
Some girls just do sideline cheer while others do all three. But whichever teams the cheerleaders compete on, the practices can still be long.
The cheerleaders’ work started all the way back in April when they had tryouts and the competition team will practice all the way up into February which is when they will go down to Disney to compete in NHSCC. The competition teams practice three times a week and during competition weeks they try to practice every day.
Both competition teams have qualified for Disney for a number of years now, and this season was no different. They qualified by placing high enough in a regional competition that took place in September where they competed against local teams.
The gameday squad won their competition while the traditional team took second place to Thomas Jefferson, and both results were good enough to get the bid to Disney.
Martonik said she believes the team can do more than just qualify for NHSCC, she said they can place high there and their previous results show they definitely can. Last year, the gameday squad took sixth place in their division while the traditional team took eighth place overall in their division.
However they end up placing, even getting to Disney is an accomplishment in itself.
Senior Lexi Schmidt, who participates on all three teams, wants to enjoy it for all its worth.
“Just seeing all the different teams and we are just bouncing off of their vibe and we are taking that and it makes us so ready to compete and get out there,” Schmidt stated, “seeing all the good teams next to us makes us wanna be that good.”
By Mia Williams, Managing Editor