By Tim DeLouchrey
Sports Editor

The Lowell High School gymnasium packed itself to near capacity on Sunday, November 23rd where Westford Academy Cheerleading placed second at the State Championships. Though they did not place first, they will still be advancing to nationals in Texas, which will take place on January 24th.

The event consisted of teams from many different divisions, with WA competing in the Coed Large. Arlington, Attleboro, Framingham, Holyoke, and Lynn English were the other groups participating in their division.

“We really worked hard and this was our best routine by far,” said senior Julie Cohen. “We’re not disappointed that we got second because we know we went out there and did the best we could.”

Lynn English led off the Coed Large portion of the competition with a smooth performance that ultimately failed to stand out. They were followed by an energized group from Natick who drew a great response from the crowd. Framingham performed next, generating the largest response from the crowd after a clean performance filled with quite a few tricks. After them, Holyoke took to the mats with the smallest group present in the Coed Large division, but still had a high quality performance. The next two teams left to compete were Arlington and Attleboro. The fans were very excited after the Arlington performance, but it was Attleboro that stole the show. Attleboro also received a blaring response from the crowd after a high energy performance featuring complicated stunts in a presentation best classified as intense.

Westford was next to claim the mat, as they were the last team to go for the day. They opened with a cheer started by senior Nick Mattinson. The rest of the cheerleaders chanted along with him. During the cheer, the most notable action was a synchronized back flip done by the team. After the cheer, they began their dance routine. They spread out over the mat to allow room for some members of the team to do handsprings through the middle. The most impressive part of the dance was the stunt in which two flyers were hoisted into the air and then held a third flyer up. They concluded their routine and prepared to hear the results.

“The most important factor this season has been good karma,” said senior captain Baylee Sacco. “It sounds weird but this year we made sure we were nice to everyone and didn’t talk bad about any routines or anything and I honestly think it was a big part in our success.”

Teams from the entire competition swarmed to the center mat after WA, as all the acts had then ended. The teams awaited patiently, as they sang and danced along with the music being played over the intercom, including a mass sing-along to “Let it Go” from Disney’s Frozen.

A few speakers then presented, including a representative from the Dana Farber organization, thanking the fans, parents, teams, and coaches while they awaited the results. After a long winded speech, the awards ceremony began.

“Waiting for our results is the most nerve wracking part of the whole competition,” said Sacco. “You think of everything that happened during the routine and what you could’ve done better but honestly I’m so proud of this team and making it this far this season has been everything I could have ever asked for.”

The first award presented was the Sportsmanship Award, which was given to three teams. The winning teams were Marlborough and Winthrop, along with Westford Academy.

The Coed Large results were announced next. The speaker first announced third place, which was given to Framingham. After that, it was announced that Westford Academy would be moving onto nationals after placing second, as in order to advance, they needed a score above eighty; they achieved that despite not placing first. The first place award went to Attleboro.

WA Cheer will now officially be traveling to Texas for the national competition.

“It’s crazy that we qualified for nationals,” said Sacco. “It’s everything I could have ever dreamed of.”

Many of the seniors on the team were also excited about going to nationals because it prolongs their high school cheerleading career just a little longer.

“It’s really sad [that it’s almost over],” said senior captain Kaitlin Canha, “but I could not have asked for a better routine to end [states] on.”