Their white, satin lettermen jackets are stamped with yellow embroidery, “National 2014 Champions”. As they leave Orlando, Fla., after participating in the National High School Cheerleading Championship, they leave making a statement with a large gold trophy and an unfading smile on their faces.
With a poster board marked in blue saying, “Congratulations National Champs #1,” in her hand, senior Hannah Smith’s mom, Jennifer Smith, could only bare her excitement to see her daughter.
“When I found out that they won, I started screaming and crying tears of joy. I called her as soon as I could, but she had to go get her white jacket,” Smith said. “When she called me back, she was screaming and yelling saying, ‘We did it, we did it, and I got my white jacket!’ I was really happy for her.”
While the crowd began to expand, Principal Dr. Jay Pickering couldn’t wait to greet the team.
“I can not tell you how excited I am for our girls and boys becoming first National Champions. I am so proud of their accomplishments, their hard work has paid off,” Pickering said. “I got a text Sunday night from Mrs. Scarlett telling me the great news. I was sitting in my car at the time and I almost had to pull over I was so excited.”
Cheer coach Karen Scarlett has coached for five years. This was her first year to win state and nationals.
Salem Elementary Principal and husband to Karen Scarlett, Mark Scarlett also waited to greet the team, but most importantly his wife.
“I am so proud of her and the kids. I get to see all the behind the scenes stuff that she has to do and stuff like that. She worries about them, wants them to always do well and she tells me everything they’re working on. They honestly become apart of the family in kind of a distant way. I’m beside myself, I really am,” Scarlett said. “I was watching them on TV and as soon as they were about to announce the winners, my computer started buffering. So, my daughters began texting me and everyone else.”
With hands in the air and smiles on their faces, the cheerleaders entered the terminal. Three girls led the team with a large blue banner stating, “NHSCC Non Tumbling National Championship 2014”.
Senior Hannah Smith reunited with her mom and sister with an undying smile.
“I have been in shock the whole time. After semis and finals, we were in second place and first place was only winning by seven-tenths of a point. And so, we knew we had to work hard. It was all in the judge’s hands,” Smith said.
With only a month’s notice, the team was told they had to entered a non-tumbling routine, perfecting in jumps and stunts.
“The large non-tumbling division fit the number of male and female cheerleaders on our team perfectly, was brought to my attention and recommended by Dr. Pickering and Athletic Director, Mike Lee. I agreed with that recommendation so that the entire team could compete together at nationals. We thought this was the best solution to a difficult situation, given that the entire team was instrumental in the previous wins at competitions and the state championship,” Scarlett said.
The team wasn’t sure how to react to the sudden change at first.
“At first, we were all a little upset about it. We had to change the routine with less than a month to do so. But, it actually turned out for the better,” Smith said.
Senior Alex Nelson took in the moment as bittersweet.
“Honestly, I am kind of glad it was my last time going because I would be nervous having to do it all over again,” Nelson said. “Being a senior, it’s always looking toward ending on a good note and winning championship. We took everything in stride, and we know that if we didn’t all get in the same boat then we would sink.”
While junior Caitlyn Smalls attended championship last year, she never expected winning this year.
“We worked a lot harder this year than any of the past years, we actually had a team,” Smalls said. “We all cried and jumped up and down as they called us. We all ran to get our jackets as fast as we could. We are going to try to do the same next year and work even harder. We really thought it wasn’t going to end up good.”
This was sophomore Haley Hood’s first year to attend the championship.
“I am hoping we can come back and do a repeat next year because the feeling was amazing and I’d love to feel it again. We all started freaking out because they announced all the other teams, so we knew we had won. Chills went down my back, I just went numb,” Hood said.
