On Jan. 24 and 25, West Albany High School’s cheerleading team competed at the Jamz Nationals in Las Vegas. Over 200 teams competed at Jamz nationals; the arena held 10,000 attendees, and the athletes performed on a large stage with bright light. Not only was it the first time WAHS had competed at Jamz Nationals, but it was also the first time WAHS cheerleading placed second.
“It was a different environment to perform in than I’ve ever performed in,” senior cheerleader Charlotte Nicholas said.
As well as the arena and competition being big, the award ceremony after the competition was large: Nicholas described it as full of cheerleaders, dancers, music, stunts, and tumbling.
“That, in itself, was the coolest cheer performance that I’ve seen live,” Nicholas said. “I haven’t seen many high-level cheer performances, but that was definitely the best one I’ve ever seen.”
Once 5A was announced, the WAHS cheerleading team awaited hearing its name called.
“We were so confident in our performance and we all kind of knew,” Nicholas said, “so we were all kind of waiting to hear it.”
“I ran off and got medals, and handed everybody their medals,” head cheerleading coach Morgan Wadlow said. “I think we were all [shell-shocked] when we got second because we beat the defending national champion.”
During Jamz Nationals, the cheer team also “hit zero,” which is where skills in the routine are hit, no stunts are dropped, and there aren’t any tumbling touchdowns. “[It] is always the goal in cheerleading, to hit zero,” Wadlow said. It was the team’s best performance to date.
But that’s not to say that there weren’t any struggles to get to this point. “We always have problems. We had an athlete quit mid-season this year in December… “ Wadlow said. “We had another [athlete] move to another school… We’ve had lots of injuries and illness, but that’s just the way it always goes.”
Along with the normal issues during cheer season, for the past two years, WAHS has had an uphill battle. In 2022, the previous coaches quit part way through the season in December, few athletes were trying out, people were quitting the sport and the program was in need of a rebuild. It’s currently Wadlow’s second year as head coach.
“I said, ‘I’ll step in and finish the season’ … and we got fifth that year, and then last year got fourth, you know, improving,” Wadlow said. “[But] I think the biggest thing we’ve overcome isn’t even necessarily this season, it’s just the rebuilding of a positive culture.”
In the past two years since the program started rebuilding, the culture of WAHS cheer is returning. “Just getting to be together as a team, I feel like our community is so much stronger,” Nicholas said. “Even just with practices and stuff, we close out by saying our favorite part of practice or complimenting someone else.”
Wadlow and the other cheer coaches are working to continue to create a hardworking cheer culture, tied to school spirit, where athletes are athletically pushed and in a positive environment.
“I’d say what makes us unique is just that we are creating a culture as we go; these kids have been really impactful,” Wadlow said.
The cheer season is not over, but since placing second at nationals there is confidence in performing well in upcoming competitions. “I think we just feel way more confident, and I think the most important thing that we gain confidence in is performing,” Nicholas said.
Cheerleading state competition will be on Feb. 15, where WAHS will have both JV and Varsity competing. JV will be competing with a traditional cheer routine, and varsity will be competing with both a traditional cheer routine along with a sideline cheer performance, the same one they performed in Las Vegas.
“We are absolutely shooting for top three, which would be the highest placement [since] the year right after COVID.” Wadlow said.
