On Saturday, January 4, the Norwin High School competitive cheer team competed at Hempfield High School against 17 other teams from the WPIAL and by placing 8th in the competition overall with a final score of 84.1, with South Fayette placing first with a final score of 92.5, managed to qualify for states, which will be held on January 30th and the 31st.
Last season in 2024, the Norwin team qualified for states placing 10th with a final score of 79.2, showing improvement this year from last season. The team ended up qualifying for nationals, but unfortunately did not place.
“I am so proud of the growth each athlete has made this season,” said first-year coach Sarah Brooks. “They have grown in individual skills and being good teammates. They are all determined to make each time better, and that is so fun to be a part of.”
“When it comes to the team, I am most proud of the girls for adjusting and changing their old habits from previous years,” said Alyssa George (12). “It has not been the easiest to start this new team but without everyone being completely committed it wouldn’t have been possible.”
Other members of the team agreed when it came to the progress and growth of the team.
“I am most proud of the shift of our attitudes in the past year,” said Molly Geissler (12). “Cheerleading is a very mental sport and not only have we worked on having consistent positive attitudes, but we are also open to working hard and trying new things. Because we have been able to adjust our mindset and have a close bond, the team works super well together which is incredibly important.”
“I am most proud of our teams’ hard work and dedication to make our routine better,” said team captain Addison Pons (12). “The girls put in all their time and effort to get reps in to clean our routine.”
Despite the team’s success at the WPIAL competition, they still feel there are aspects of their game they could improve on in the future.
“I think that the team needs to work the most on achieving consistent full-out routines,” said Geissler. “We often have one or two mistakes in every run and getting those runs perfect without any mistakes multiple times in a row. If we prepare consistently, we will be more confident while competing.”
“Our strongest thing we need to work on is our confidence,” said George. “Our coaches have provided us an amazing routine and we can physically perform it very well; we all need a strong mindset and great attitudes!”
“Consistency is what the team most needs to work on,” said Brooks. “It has been a battle learning the “no matter what” mentality, but they are getting better and better with every practice. This group of girls are the foundation of what we are trying to build Norwin Cheer to be, and they are doing a wonderful job setting the standard. They were super nervous for WPIALs – and now that they have that under their belt, I am sure they will be ready to go for what is to come. The outcome of WPIALS wasn’t what we wanted with a few mistakes, and now they know what that feels like and won’t let it happen again.”
The Norwin High School Competitive Cheer team will be competing at states in Reading, Pennsylvania on the 30th and 31st of January. If they qualify for Nationals, they will compete at Disney from February 6th to the 11th.
” The 2024-2025 team is very devoted to doing our best and working very hard every practice,” said Lauren Zona (12). “Before WPIALs, we practiced for two hours each day of the week, wanting nothing more than to do the best we could at this competition. While we may not have put our best performance out on the mat at WPIALs, we have big things ahead for our last two competitions, and are determined to do amazing at states.”
“I am super optimistic that they are going to do better at the next 2 competitions,” said Brooks.
”I have high hopes for the team the rest of the season”, said Geissler. “We continue to improve, increase our difficulty, and overall look better after every single practice. I can’t wait for our last two competitions!”
