Dance and Spirit teams place at the Western Nationals in Anaheim
On March 27 and 28, the Dance and Spirit teams competed in the USA National Championships in Anaheim, Calif. Dance placed first in the kick routine and fifth in the medium routine, one place away from earning a trophy. Cheer placed fourth and Song placed first for its novice division and fifth for its intermediate division.
Due to a change in regulations last year, Cheer moved up to the from novice to the intermediate tier. The skills required to make the top three at nationals are at a much higher caliber in the intermediate tier, which involves more stunts and tumbling. Despite the raised expectations, Cheer still placed fourth, scoring only 0.8 points away from the first place score and one place away from winning a trophy.
Due to another change in regulations, the Song team was split into Intermediate and Novice, and many of the other more advanced schools moved down into Intermediate. The Song team placed fourth in the intermediate division and first in the novice division. Because some schools had been in the advanced division, Song had prepared for some tough competition.