Yucaipa Cheer Squad National Champions
Courtesy Photo
YUCAIPA - A question on the minds of some of the 10,000 spectators last weekend was, "where and who is Yucaipa?"
When they found out on Sunday afternoon it left some of them with little to cheer about.
The Yucaipa High School Varsity Cheer Squad emerged from three days of cheerleading competition to claim the "2009 USA Nationals Spirit Championship." The competition is governed by the United Spirit Association and was held at the Anaheim Convention Center, March 27 - 29.
"It's amazing," said Yucaipa Head Coach, Lauren Busby, who has coached the team for three years. "All the hard work and dedication paid off. The girls came together as a team."
So does Yucaipa become the "little unknown town" that came out of nowhere to win the title? Apparently so.
"They were saying, 'Yucaipa who?' 'Isn't that that little farm town?'" said Donna Solomon, whose daughter Julie Jacobus is on the squad. "We had never placed before. We had never won a (first place) trophy. It's amazing."
Yucaipa competed in the Medium Varsity, Show Cheer Intermediate Division that allows 13 to maximum of16 girls on the squad. Yucaipa finished in first place out of 23 teams in their division, and they also took first out of 43 teams in the Group Stunt competition.
In the group stunt, five girls from each of the 43 schools compete against each other in a variety of stunts. Two bases, a back spotter, front spotter, and flier perform routines such as the "over stretch," "scale," "arabesque," and "scorpion," said senior, Amanda Wilson, who is the team's back spotter.
To defeat 42 other teams, the girls had to be perfect, added Wilson. "The timing has to be exact or the judges will mark down," she said. "All the movements have to be perfect."
The cheer squad had strong showings in dance, tumble, and stunts while performing to music, Busby said. And in one minute of allotted time, they energized the crowd into loud and frenzied cheering. Exactly what a cheer squad should do.
"You have to have the energy and get the crowd involved," Busby said. "That's a big part of it."
A Nationals Spirit Championship is a first for Yucaipa High School. The squad finish 10th out of 26 teams last year - the highest since the school entered the competition four years ago, Busby said.
What boosted the squad from tenth to first? They put in the time, were dedicated and, "They had the heart and desire to win," Busby said. "We were pretty confident we had done everything we could, but it was up to the judges. We were all pretty ecstatic when Yucaipa's name was announced."
At Sunday's awards ceremony for the top six teams, the excitement kept building for the Yucaipa girls as the sixth, fifth, fourth, then third place teams were announced, Wilson said. And that left just Yucaipa and San Clemente as the top-two finalists.
"When it got down to the last two names and then they called out San Clemente as second we all started screaming," Wilson said. "And then we heard the announcer say, 'Your national champion is Yucaipa!' A lot of people did not know where we were from, but now they know."
The top six high school cheer squads include:
- Yucaipa.
- San Clemente.
- Highland.
- Buchanan.
- Foothill
- Santa Monica.
The varsity team members: Karlie Blum, Breannda Doty, Kourtni Gelfand, Nikki Gloudeman, Megan Hampton, Lindsey Heilman, Christina Hernandez,
Julie Jacobus, Brittney Koepsell, Olivia Kunze, Brooke Miller, Karleigh Perez,
Katelynn Scott, Miranda Siegersma, Brittanie Vert, Amanda Wilson, and Carlee Wilson.
Group Stunt members: Breannda Doty, Megan Hampton, Lindsey Heilman, Brittanie Vert, and Amanda Wilson.
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I am soooooo proud of YHS!!!!
I am so Proud of Yucaipa High School! That competition was the most spectacular event I have ever seen! Congradulations to ALL the Varsity team. You were awesome!
I am So proud of the YHS Varsity Cheer squad and what they accomplished this past Sunday. I was there to see the girls put together not just one, but two near flawless performances on their way to becoming National Champions. Congrats to coach Busby and all the great young ladies. I know how hard you all worked for this and it paid off big time!
Great Job Yucaipa Girls. All your hard work paid off. You all have amazing memories that will be with you the rest of your lives.
The Schnurles
Amazing job Olivia !!!!!!
Congrats girls!!
you guys worked hard for it!
Yeah! That hard work pays good don't it? congrats to everyone Lauren, Tammy, Cheryl, parents, and you kids too. It takes a whole lot of people to make it all happen! Go T-Birds!
OMG!!!!!! I still cant believe we won! I love my team and thank you so much for making my senior year so great! Go Yucaipa! :)
Wow! It was so awesome to watch you girls at Nationals. Your familes, friends, Lauren and Hayden were all SO proud of you! Your dedication and talent was amazing. I will never forget the pride and joy on all of your faces!
Thank you for making us all so proud of our YHS Cheerleaders!
I am still on cloud 9 that we came home with 2 national championships. That weekend is one I will never foget! This team is definitly one that will always hold a special place in my heart. I am so proud of all of you, and happy to see these seniors go out on top! Thank you to everyone for all of your support, it means the world to me!
:)
I wonder if the cheer squad is the first Yucaipa athletic team to ever bring home two national championships?