Northgate High School Competitive Cheerleading team returns from the JAMZ National Cheer Competition in Las Vegas with a National Championship Title. This prestigious event, held annually, hosts the top cheerleading teams from across the country, with 260 schools in attendance. Cheer teams compete in various divisions, and this year the Northgate High School Team came out on top with the win. The Northgate Competitive cheer squad is a small, but fierce team of fourteen competitive athletes. The team is a relatively inexperienced squad, but through dedication, hard work, and great captains, they all learned to work cohesively and treat one another as equals proving anything is possible!
The squad of fourteen includes athletes of all grade levels, from freshmen to seniors. There are two freshmen and one sophomore new to cheer and competition this year. Joining these three athletes, there are eight sophomores including one who has no cheer experience and five who only started in the sport last year; one junior and four seniors. Seniors Katelyn Zheng and Kailee Newberry returned for her final year wanting to have this be a season to remembered. Team captains: Breanna Christensen, Jocelyn Torrey, Kailee Newberry, and Junior Jenna Peterson were determined to lead this team by sharing their experience, knowledge, discipline, and love for the sport. Helping their teammates with technique, confidence, and preparing them for competitions.
Two seniors, Breanna Christensen and Jocelyn Torrey are standout senior captains for the Northgate Competitive Cheer team. Both athletes have been on the squad since it was established only three years ago. As captains, both Breanna and Jocelyn have worked together to lead the squad and create a unified team where each individual athlete was important and respected. Their leadership and cheer skills created a winning combination of grit and persistence, proving with dedication, encouragement, and hard work a young, inexperienced team can win a National Cheer Title.
Before this National event, Northgate’s Competitive Cheerleading Team had participated in regional qualifying competitions, including the inaugural year of the North Coast Section (NCS) competition only a week before winning the Champion title. Throughout the season, the squad faced difficult competition, within their region with some of the hardest to beat competitive teams and a past National Championship Team. These teams are bigger squads with more experienced athletes, and we kept falling short on the score sheet, sometimes coming only half a point short of winning. But our squad never gave up.
A week before, we made a few choreographic changes and pushed the athletes to step outside of their comfort zones. A few of the athletes have been battling injuries and were only able to have a modified practice.
On the day of the competition Senior Captain, Breanna Christensen, prepped the team before they completed both the longest and most spirited 1 minute and 15 seconds of their season. After a short break, they executed their second performance of the day, as they compete in two different divisions with two completely different routines and requirements.
The second routine was two minutes and thirty seconds long, and the squad HIT their routine! There were a few things that didn’t go as planned, but the team was excited for how the day went and had high hopes for the awards ceremony. At the awards ceremony they called and recognized everyone in our division and the major awards started to be called. Excitement filled the air as third place was one of the teams they had scored above at regionals. Second place was called, and the squad realized it was the regional champions who had previously beaten them. It felt as though the announcer paused before announcing our team, Northgate High School, as the High School Varsity Sideline Cheer National Champions!
The team rushed to the stage for medals and photos and then headed back stage for their championship jackets and even more photos. The JAMZ staff hugged all the girls and said, “I knew you would make it to the stage.” The squad was so excited and could not believe it. But that is the difference between a competition and a national championship routine, as the squad beat out many of the teams that had taken higher places throughout the season. One other very special aspect of the squad is that I got to coach my daughter Breanna.
After celebrating with my team, I searched for my daughter and husband. We hugged, cried, and expressed the true joy of this experience. Not often do coaches get to coach their own children, and my daughter always wanted me to be her coach as she saw me coach so many teams as she grew up. The Northgate team, not only beat the two teams they had been battling all season, but they bested them both by almost an entire point (judging is based on 0.05 point scale). It was the highest score we ever earned and our very first 1st place finish. Really the only 1st place that mattered in the end.
Winning a National Championship title has never happened at Northgate High School and is an incredible accomplishment for these dedicated athletes. Their hard work, perseverance, and teamwork paid off earning them the win.
By Karma Christensen, Northgate Competitive Cheerleading Coach