A WELL-EARNED WIN: SLC CHEERLEADING

BY GRACE KELLEY

On November 7, 2022, the North Royalton High School Competitive Cheerleading team gained a new title: the 2022 Suburban League Champions. The SLC competition took place at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School, the rival school of North Royalton. The athletes of this team put in hard work from July to November, pushing themselves to their limits. Although helped lead this team to their fifth victory in five years. One of those people is Samantha Shields, a co-captain and senior on the NRHS Competition team. Samantha has been dedicated to the sport of cheerleading for ten years. Another important figure in the team’s win was Olivia D’ambrosia, the other co-captain of the team. Olivia was one of the two captains on the NRHS Competition team, alongside Samantha. Oliva cheered for the majority of her life, a whopping thirteen years! These two leaders were backed by four other seniors: Megan DeAngelis, Leah Dziedziak, Kylie Maciak, and Jenna Timko. Ashley Ursini, a junior on the team, stated that these seniors are “hardworking and motivated.” All of these seniors have been a large part of the program in the last few seasons and will be missed by their teammates!

Although faced with multiple challenges in the past few years, the cheerleaders that make up the North Royalton High School Competitive Cheerleading team have achieved many accomplishments. The immense amount of work that all of these athletes put into their routine showed on the mat, prov- faced with multiple challenges, all 30 athletes overcame struggles to assist their team in a win for the fifth season in a row!

The pressure on the team leading up to the competition was immense, seeing as these amazing girls have taken home the SLC Championship title for the past five years, excluding the 2020 season. Due to COVID-19, there was no SLC competition in 2020. That didn’t slow down this team though! The NRHS Competition Team attended Americheer, a competition in Columbus, Ohio, where they won the title of Overall Grand Champions. There is hope that this five-year winning streak will continue to expand over the next few years.

There have been multiple feats that the NRHS cheer program has had to overcome in the past few years. For starters, after the 2020 season, Dee Haase retired from her position as Varsity and Competition cheerleading coach after being with the program for eleven years. After some interim coaches, Ree Haase, daughter of former coach Dee Haase, stepped up to the occasion, filling the role of head coach of the NRHS cheerleading program for the 2022 season. Luckily, Ree intends to continue in her role as head coach for multiple seasons to come!

There are 30 athletes, as well as multiple coaches that ing these girls were worthy of the win! As a new coach settles into her position and new teams are formulated, many people are left to wonder: what else is the next great achievement for the NRHS Competition Cheer team?