- November 23, 2024
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The Seabreeze and Mainland high schools’ competitive cheerleading teams qualified to compete at the State Championship semifinals in February after wrapping up the Region 2, Class 1A and 2 A meet held at Bishop Moore Catholic High School on Saturday, Jan. 22.
This is the first year Seabreeze has had competitive cheerleading as part of their athletic program. The team is known for their presence on the sidelines at many of the Sandcrabs sporting events but not on a competitive level.
“To be able to represent our sport on the competitive end and help bring a spotlight to Seabreeze at the FHSAA State Championship is a huge deal,” coach Megan Lambert said. “As a first year competitive program, this team has accomplished so much. The team has talent and grit. It hasn’t been an easy road but this team took the floor and left everything they had right there on the mat.”
At regionals, the team placed 12th overall in the small varsity category and third in Class 1A. The Sandcrabs are part of an elite group of 11 teams traveling to the Exactech Arena in Gainesville where they will vie for the state championship on February 2nd. Rivals include the New Smyrna Beach Barracudas whose team placed seventh overall at the regional meet. Seabreeze will then head to the National High School Cheerleading Championships on February 11-13.
“Seabreeze cheer is here to stay,” said Lambert. “A fire has been lit. I can’t wait to see these girls compete at the State Championship.”
The Mainland Buccaneers have also taken their cheering to the next level. In their second competitive meet, they placed seventh overall at regionals in Class 2A in the large non-tumbling category and are headed to the State Championship semifinals.
Team captain A’mari Fernandez has been cheering with the team for four years and has been accepted to cheer with various colleges, the most recent being Bethune-Cookman University. She believes that the team always hits their dance routines and are extremely strong with the cheering aspect. Moving forward, the Bucs will be focusing on increasing the complexity of their stunts.
“With semifinals, we got this,” Fernandez said. “Just got to get the nerves out, keep our trust in each other, our stamina, our smiles, our facials, everything. If we hit those, we are going to finals and I’m confident in that.”
Two additional Volusia county schools made the cut at regionals and are headed to the championships. The DeLand Bulldogs placed second overall in the Class 2A medium co-ed category which automatically qualifies them for the finals. Spruce Creek placed third overall in the Class 2A extra large non-tumbling category, awarding the Hawks a berth in the semifinals.
The FHSAA State Championship will be held at the Exactech Arena in Gainesville on Feb. 1-2.