“Cheerleading has developed into way more than side line chants and dances. Competitive routines are 2 and a half minutes of pushing your body to its limits” varsity cheerleading Coach Michelle Mazur said.

During the competitive season this year, the varsity cheerleading team secured 6 first place trophies and 5 grand champ titles along with a fully paid bid to the US Finals. Back in February the Varsity team placed first at the “Gotta Cheer” competition in New Jersey, and was crowned Grand Champs.

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We compete 6-8 times during our regular season and then finish up with a national competition in late February or early March- Locations change year to year,” Mazur said. This year the competitions took place in Orlando Florida, and the Neshaminy Varsity team was crowned first place champions, finishing with an undefeated record.

Captains this year include Gianna Casmirri, Lauren Henry, Haylee Starrett and Sarah Pringle. “They really are the glue that keeps this team as close as they are,” Mazur said. Key seniors are Lauryn Heil, Annie Lostracco and Britt Fantini.

The girls attend multiple choreography classes as well as weekly tumbling classes in order to prepare for competitions. Often times, these preparations start before school the school year does. “In the beginning of the season, we practice 5 days a week and then we scale back to 3x a week. 1 day a week is at The Nac so we can practice our tumbling,” Mazur explained.

There is more to the cheer team than competitions though. Every year the team participates in several community events. “We cheered on the walkers at the Susan G. Koman walk,” Mazur said. “We also collected baby items during the football season… benefiting low income babies.”