Central Cheer brings home national hardware

Members of Westosha Central High School’s cheerleading squad display its seventh-place trophy earned at a national tournament held in Florida last weekend.

Team finishes 7th in country

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

Unlike two years ago, when the Westosha Central High School cheerleading squad made its first National High School Cheerleading Championship appearance in Florida, they came prepared last weekend.

The preparation, in addition to the goal of reaching the finals, has paid off with a No. 7 ranking nationally following their performance at the finals held at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.

According to coach Natalia Vernezze, who has guided the team to back-to-back Wisconsin Association of Cheer/Pom Coaches state titles, the team expressed excitement when they were announced as a top 12 finalist among nearly a dozen Division II squads in the country.

“It feels amazing, so our goal was to make it past the first round, and we did,” said Vernezze, who noted the intense competition.

“It was really tough, we had a lots of teams (against us),” she said. “But our kids did really well hitting their routines and our cheers helped us get the top scores.”

The panel of judges assessed each team on a 100-point system, including stunts, jumps, tumbling, motions, music and crowd appeal, execution, among other categories.

Senior Samantha Fornell, who is a 3-year varsity athlete, was a member of the 2015 team, which did not advance to the finals.

“Our first year, it wasn’t all about performance,” said Fornell, who believed the team exhibits more skill this year.

“But the talent we have now is so much better. We have put out much better routines than we ever have.”

Following the Falcons’ first round appearance, the team learned they advanced as finalists Saturday, when senior Madi Hansen recalled excitement.

“We were all so excited, that was our goal, it was just a great feeling,” said Hansen, who is a Southern Lakes Conference champion cheerleader.

Along with Hansen and Fornell, Vernezze credited other seniors for showcasing leadership on and off the mats, including Alyssa Bock, Sara Hebior, Lauren LaPlant, Madi Leafblad, Morgan Langer, Joscelynn Gould and Lindsay Mazurek.

“I feel like all of the seniors just did what they needed to do to motivate the others to do well,” Vernezze said.

Fornell, who noted the team’s dedication, is fortunate for the seventh place finish.

“Seventh place has never felt so good,” Fornell said. “Quite honestly, we are so grateful to even make it to the finals…it shows that all of the hard work has paid off.”

Hansen agreed, noting all schools earned a right to appear at the national competition.

“There were a lot of great teams, everyone here deserved to be here, and they were all great,” Hansen said.

The seventh place honor also comes with a trophy, the school’s first in a national competition, according to an email sent to reporters.

Westosha Central is not finished, however, as the team seeks to defend its state title at a meet later this month.

Other members of the team are junior Krissy Swatkowski, Jaden McKenna, Layne Schroeder, LuLu Toney, Brenna Maloney, Lauren Shane, Rebecca Glassen, Grace Ziehm, Hannah Hogan, Claire Fox, Rylee Johnson and Nina Scott.

Additionally, Hansen was part of the second-place stunt team consisting of Hebior, LaPlant and Mazurek at the Southern Lakes Conference meet earlier this season.

 


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