Next Stop State Championships—

Varsity Cheerleaders Take First Place at Sacred Heart

By Leah Blewett

The Newtown High School co-ed varsity cheerleading squad is preparing for a state competition on March 4, after bringing home a first place trophy from a competition at Sacred Heart University last Saturday. The squad is still feeling the excitement of their recent win, their first in a co-ed category. 

“[The best part is] at the end of performing in front of a crowd once everything has gone perfect and everyone is cheering for you… you just feel great,” said senior Ben Champagne of the competition. Ben is one of four new male members of the team.

 Shannon Solheim, a junior, agreed. “At competition, the energy level in the gym is amazing and for once we’re the team being clapped for and cheered on.”

One thing all squad members agreed on was how helpful it has been to make the transition to co-ed from all-girl varsity. 

“Our ‘few good men’ have turned out to be the best addition to the squad we could have asked for,” noted junior co-captain Courtney MacRae. 

 However, the transition to co-ed has not changed other aspects of the squad. “Although the boys have brought our stunting capability to a new level, our hard work, dedication, and team unity are still as strong as ever,” said co-captain Carela Catigano, a senior.

 The team also competed at SWC’s on January 29, placing sixth out of fifteen teams in the conference because of a safety violation.

 “[Without the violation] we would have been in second place… it was a huge disappointment and made going to the next competition kind of intimidating,” said senior Erika Toi.

   This year was the first time the state’s athletic league hosted a competition for cheerleaders, enforcing the new status of “sport” enjoyed by the NHS squad.

“When we sent out an e-mail to publicize SWC’s, we got a response back from someone saying that he would rather watch his ‘SPORT,’ which was written in bold,” explained Courtney MacRae. “Before people judge us, they should come out and support us.”

  Despite disappointments and criticism, the squad maintains a sense of enthusiasm for what they do – and for each other.     

“It’s like having 15 sisters and 4 brothers!” said Erika Toi.

Shannon Solheim agreed: “The people [who cheer] are so sweet and really passionate about what they do… we’re like a family.”

The boys of the team also share in the dedication and enthusiasm. Sophomore Drew Narcum noted that the best part of cheerleading is “learning a new skill and making new friends.”

“It’s fun but very challenging and takes a lot of work as a team,” added teammate Ben Champagne.

 While the team is present and performs at both boys and girls home basketball games during the winter season, it’s clear that competing is what they anxiously look forward to. “Competition is the best feeling in the world!” said junior Kathy Bartek. “We get to go and show off everything that we have been working on for so long… it’s exciting going out there.” 

Sophomore Jaime Huppenthal echoed her teammate’s sentiments. “I love competition because it is such a rush!”

“It’s very scary before you go on, but then after it was so fun to be in front of people,” added Whitney Cross.

As the team prepares to attend State Championships on March 4, their demeanor remains positive.  The group is obviously very close, their trust and consideration for each other is evident whenever cheerleading is discussed.

“I would never change the love and trust that we have for each other. Without our deep sense of bonding, our squad would never be able to do the great things we have been achieving,” expressed sophomore Kali Santarpia. 

“We went to Sacred Heart and showed everyone how far we’ve come. It’s great to be able to leave the squad [as a senior] knowing that we finally got the recognition we deserve,” said Catigano with a smile.

(Leah Blewett is a junior journalism student at Newtown High School and has been a member of the high school’s cheerleading squad since freshman year.)