NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New Rochelle High School’s junior varsity cheerleading squad is going back to the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship in February.
The team won a bid to compete in both Traditional Cheer and Game Day portions and achieved first place and fifth place finishes, respectively, in the Empire Regional Competition at Nassau Community College on Sunday. The teams were scored based on their overall performance, motions, impression, difficulty of stunts, execution, dance and cheer. New Rochelle competes in the Large Junior Varsity Division.
The team now advances to compete Feb. 8-10 in Orlando, Florida. The competition is the most prestigious cheerleading championship in the country. It is held at the Walt Disney World Resort and is nationally televised on ESPN and ESPN2. The competition hosts more than 800 teams and 15,000 athletes.
The program has participated in the competition since 1998. The JV team is coached by Melissa Begendorf and Laura Clement.
The varsity team is competing Sunday at the UCA Pocono Regional at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, eyeing a bid for the championship competition as well. The team is coached by Angela Trozzi and Ashley Brennan.
The coaching staff at New Rochelle High School currently consists of all former New Rochelle Varsity cheerleaders.
In addition to the National Championship, the JV team will also compete in The World School Cheerleading Championship, based on its top 10 finish in the national competition last year. This means New Rochelle’s JV team will go up against qualifying international teams as well as teams in the U.S.