Fossil Ridge cheer team takes on pressures of NHSCC Nationals

On Feb. 8-9 the varsity cheerleaders of Fossil Ridge High School are taking off to Walt Disney World in Orlando to compete in the National High School Cheerleading Championships (NHSCC).

The NHSCC is the most prestigious cheerleading championship in the country, according to the UCA Varsity website. On the weekend of Feb. 8-9 the NHSCC is held at Walt Disney World Resort and is nationally televised on ESPN and ESPN2 to over 100 million homes and 32 countries nationwide each year.

This year, the FRHS cheer team is striving for the gold. The team consists of six seniors, six juniors, five sophomores, and six freshmen, making the team have a total of 23 girls. The head varsity coach, Nikki Ogden and assistant Justin Wilson have been pushing the girls all year for this one competition.

“Sometimes I just want to quit because they push us so hard but I know it’s just because they want us to do well and not let our school down,” junior Kaelie O’Reilly said.

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O’Reilly broke her pinky finger from slamming it against a desk about a week ago and doesn’t want to go to the doctor in case they want to cast it. Even though it’s such a small injury, it can affect her performance. “I guess my pinky finger is just not very strong.”

The smallest things factor in to their competition day. With today being their last early morning practice before they leave, the pressure is on. “We’ve been having such good practices lately, it gives me such a good feeling about what’s to come this weekend,” sophomore Paige Matson said. “The basketball team and crowd at the games have been so enthusiastic and supporting to us lately and it gives all of us encouragement to do well this weekend.”

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