The Lakeside High School cheerleading team aspires to build on last year's successful debut at the national competition with an even better finish next month.
Lakeside placed fifth in the Super Varsity Division II at the 2014 Universal Cheerleaders Association's National High School Cheerleading Championship. The division consisted of 30 teams from 19 states.
"Coaches (of other teams) told us before we even went that, 'You're not going to win your first time. No one wins their first time,'" said Lakeside senior Hannah Porter, a captain on this year's team.
Despite the team's relative lack of experience, Lakeside exited the preliminary round just one point behind the top team. The four teams that placed ahead of Lakeside in the finals were repeat competitors at Nationals.
"We did not have all of the difficulty that other teams had," said senior Sarah Sands, a Lakeside captain. "Going and Lakeside being Lakeside -- sharp, clean and all of those aspects that we have -- we almost got a national championship.
"We went in this year hoping to have the difficulty and the sharpness and cleanness Lakeside has."
"No excuses" became the team's motto for this season. Lakeside earned a return trip to Nationals with a 16th state championship in December.
Lakeside finished atop 5A in the 2014 Arkansas State Cheerleading Championships at Bank of the Ozarks Arena on Dec. 20. Top finishers are not guaranteed an invite to Nationals. Teams must score high enough to be invited, a task made tougher last month by the Nationals-level judges.
The team usually practiced at the school before a competition and warms up again before they perform. Lakeside cheered at 9:20 a.m. at the state competition without their usual practice routine.
They were aided by their competition experience. The state competition was Lakeside's sixth of the season. Coach Judy Morton said it can be an even tougher situation for teams that may have only competed once or twice before state.
"If we aren't completely focused or we let something come down, there is no second chance in cheerleading," Morton said. "I think that is what makes it so hard."
Only the top three teams in each of the 5A, 6A and 7A divisions earned invites to Nationals. Four or five teams in each division are normally invited.
Fourteen of the 17 juniors and sophomores return from last year's team. Sands and Porter are joined by classmates Skyler Adkins, Memory Collatt, Hallie Green, Paxton Keith and Maegan Whitehead.
The team's juniors are Lauren Alford, Lexi Blade, Samantha Chenevert, M.E. Foster, Lili Hanke, Lauren Irwin, Savannah Moore, Cathy Oseguera and Taylor Preston. Sophomore cheerleaders are Katlin Daniel, Kensi Freeland, Lauren Hebling, Krista Henderson, Morgan Herndon, Savannah Hibbs, Maddy Hollingshead, Caelin Housley, Mary Cate Nolan, Abby Simmons and Peyton White.
The NHSCC will be held again at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla., Feb. 7-8. According to UCA, the event is nationally televised on ESPN and ESPN2 each year to more than 100 million homes and 32 countries.
Preliminary rounds are held at the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Theater at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The finals take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Lakeside was seen as a burgeoning team at the 2014 competition. Morton and her cheerleaders plan to surprise at the competition again.
"We are serious about it," Morton said. "It's like I tell (the team), if we are going to Nationals, we are going there to win. I'm not going down there to have fun at Disney World."
Team members believe last year's experience helped them know what to expect and how to handle the elite level of competition.
"I definitely think it is a work in progress just because all of what we have been through this year," Porter said. "We are working our way back up.
"Coming back, you realize how good of a program we have and how hard we work, in that we are not working for something small anymore. We are working for something larger than state and larger than Nationals, even, just because of everything that has happened."
Lakeside's team will leave on Feb. 5 on a charter bus for the 16-hour ride to Orlando. Many of the team's families are also planning to travel to Orlando again for support.
The team is still seeking sponsors for the trip. Those interested in contributing or becoming a sponsor can contact Morton at 501-276-4358 or [email protected].
Local on 01/09/2015