St. Thomas Aquinas's cheer team hit the floor on Friday afternoon to perform their gold-medal winning routine for the public. The Saints won the national title at the Cheer Evolution Championships in Niagara Falls earlier this month.
Grade 9 student, Jada Ponton, spoke about winning the gold at Nationals.
"It feels amazing that we've come this far. Everyone worked together to get to this point. It was very hard but we're a family and we all worked together to make this work," she said.
While winning a national title is always a difficult task, the accomplishment is even more impressive considering this is only the second year of existence for the cheer squad.
The team is a mix of both experienced athletes and girls who are completely new to the sport.
"Cheerleading is hard, very hard but it's wonderful," said Tayah Lavoye, a Grade 10 student who has never cheered before. "It's very tiring and a lot of work but if you really practice you'll get there. The stunts were the hardest part to learn."
Head coach Teresa Stevenson emphasized at the showcase that everyone is welcome to come and try out for the team next year. That's something Ponton is already looking forward to.
"I'm looking forward to new people joining because we are losing a lot of seniors," she said.
The cheer team practices three times a week and attends competitions in both Ontario and Manitoba. Both girls emphasized how much fun they had being a part of the team.
"It was super amazing. I loved being part of the team. It was a great experience," concluded Lavoye.
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Trina Henley
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