MORGANTOWN — For nearly every high school sport in America, a state or national competition would surely indicate the conclusion of the competitive season.
The Morgantown High School cheerleading squad recently qualified for and competed at the 2024 UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship held in Orlando, Fla. Feb. 7-10. They earned a 10th-place overall placement in the Small Varsity Division I Game Day competition after qualifying seventh out of 21 total teams in the semi-final round.
Fast forward nearly two weeks later to Monday, Feb. 19th, and guess who was back in the gym for practice on a day off of school? Morgantown Cheer. They still have the rest of the year ahead of them without a true off-season on the schedule.
Although this year has been one of historical significance for the squad, the coaches and cheerleaders all know these results couldn’t have come without years of hard work and dedication to building a true program at MHS.
“This group of seniors that have been with the team for four years that have continued to be with us have been incredible,” said MHS cheer coach Cindy Colasante, who is in her sixth year with the team. “Periodically we have some that pop in and out due to playing multiple sports or other things and this year is the first season I’ve kept all of my seniors the entire year.”
Not only did all of the seniors remain with the team, but all 18 members remained on the squad going into the basketball postseason. This retention, Colasante said, is crucial when it comes to multiple facets of the program.
“It’s big because to be able to set standards and expectations, you need to be present,” she said. “Like any sport, you take some time off and you may lose some of your fundamentals. It’s also huge for team unity, keeping everyone together goes a long way when it comes to the sport of cheer.”
Her seniors echoed the thoughts of their coach. Four-year team member Sydney Frazier said the culture that has been building since her freshman year makes every member want to continue with the team even more than before.
“We’ve always had a good culture around the team, so to speak,” Frazier said. “One thing I’ve noticed since my freshman year is we are more motivating toward each other now. It really feels like a family.”
Morgantown earned a 10th-place finish in the Small Varsity Division I Game Day competition at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championships with a score of 85.8 in the final round with zero deduction penalties.
They qualified for the final 11 after finishing seventh in the semifinals with a score of 86.2.
Before the national competition, the Mohigans competed in the state finals, with the top two teams in the standings moving on automatically to the national competition. MHS finished third behind George Washington and Hurricane, but based on their score qualified as an at-large bid.
The third-place finish in the state competition was one of huge improvement.
“The year before, we finished 12th,” Colasante said. “To come in third behind two teams like George Washington and Hurricane is amazing. We couldn’t be happier with the progress and opportunity.”
The opportunity gave every member of the team the chance to compete in a different environment than they were used to.
“I do all-star and travel so sometimes we have those bigger competitions, but on a national stage, it was so nerve-wracking,” senior Kenleigh Nutter said. “It’s a different experience. I had to call the cheer to start it off and on the day of finals I was so nervous because if I mess it up, I would throw the whole team off.”
“I had never competed anywhere that wasn’t a gym,” Frazier said.
The 2023-24 cheer season has been one to remember for MHS and is paving a path toward a bright future for the program going forward. It won’t be too long before the Mohigan Cheer squad is back on the competition floor and in the national spotlight.
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