Team places top three in Spirit Division
The Javelina cheer team recently returned from Daytona, Fla., where they competed in their first national competition in 20 years and came back with great accomplishments.
The Javelina cheer team placed third overall in the Division II Spirit Rally Division and were awarded with a trophy.
“It was definitely a little intimidating walking in. The teams around us had way more experience than we did. We just had to shake off the jitters because there was no time for that, we had to pull ourselves together and get that win. And we did, we placed top three,” Senior Lauren Rodriguez said.
With the team finding out in February that they would be traveling and competing in the competition they had nothing but high hopes of making the best of it and to come back with the gold.
“We haven’t been to NCA or UCA nationals in years and this was the first time we ever placed in top three and brought some hardware home so just placing was huge for us but it was also productive for us,: Head Cheer Coach Molly Roach said. “We really had the opportunity to dream on what we want this program to be and the legacy we want to have to become better in years to come.”
The Javelinas kept their spirits high, voices loud and smiles bright so the judges could see that they went there to win.
“The competition was something else, it’s one of the biggest cheer competitions in the world. We saw schools from all over. There were teams from Hawaii, Louisiana, and many different schools from Texas,” Co-Captain Anyssa Flores said. “It felt amazing to be there, especially getting the trophy and bringing it back to Javelina nation.”
Overwhelmed with shaky emotions and joy during the competition, the Javelinas still managed to climb their way to success and show all their fans their hard work.
“It felt amazing. Not only did we show the Kingsville community how good we are but we proved to our coach that we wanted to do this not only for us but for her as well,” Rodriguez said. “I felt like we made our mark and the legacy will continue on as long as TAMUK cheer is successful as it is.”
Moving forward they now prepare for the Fall football season and all the excitement to come with it.