After months of practicing and dedicating long hours, the Hollywood High cheer team took first place in the Central League last Friday night at Wilson High. After a “rough” showcase on Feb. 16, the cheer team made it their top priority to take the league title.
Cheerleaders said they were not satisfied with their February performance at Birmingham High in which they placed 14 out of 15 teams. After that, they said they made it their job to place in the top three for Central League.
The team practiced from 3:30-6:30 p.m. every single day, said Captain Heidi Paniagua. “Practicing was draining and some of us had to result to public transportation and our energy to even do homework lacked,” the SAS senior said.
The team did not expect to come out as the league champions; they would have been content with any placing in the top three. “Our expectations were based of the hard work and that extra effort we had to give to satisfy our expectations,” said Paniagua.
A mishap with the bus transportation almost caused the team to miss the competition, but another bus was ordered and the athletes made it just in time. They went on to place first with a total of 75 points and zero deductions.
With championships around the corner, the team is continuing to work harder than before. “Going into championships I feel more confident and we know that we need to push harder than last time,” Heidi said. The cheer team will continue to work hard and put in every ounce of passion until they reach City, she said. Until then, they will take on the next competitions.
Heidi said she “personally was really nervous about competing because of their previous competition and how the practices throughout the week was going, it was hard on all of us physically and emotionally, but we knew we were capable of having the outcome we did.”