About 7,000 student-athletes and 307 teams converged on Daytona Beach, Fla. last week to compete in the Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship, hosted by the National Cheerleaders Association.
N.C. State’s cheerleaders put in a strong performance, sending five groups to the final rounds of their respective events (group stunt, small coed, large coed, cheer division and mascot).
The most impressive performance came from the Pack’s group stunt team, which placed second in the event. The four Wolfpack student athletes had no point deductions – virtually a perfect performance – finishing behind eventual winner Oklahoma State University by a mere 0.63 points.
A fourth-place finish by the small coed squad was a bittersweet victory, as the squad has finished in second place the last two years.
“Unfortunately this year’s judges weren’t in our favor for small coed,” said senior small coed captain Meredith Hamlet. “But we actually did a phenomenal job performing. It wasn’t really anything in our control.”
Head coach Harold Trammel said he shared similar opinions about the performance.
“I think they [the small coed team] were more talented than they were in the past,” Trammel said. “Unfortunately when you have a mistake, and the other teams don’t, they advance in front of you. I don’t think there is any particular reason why this year’s placement wasn’t as good, because they were definitely talented.
“It’s a judge sport. You can have the same skills as the other teams, but the judging panel can just like the look of what one team does over the other.”
The large coed squad, on the other hand, improved its performance from recent seasons. After finishing in seventh place the last two seasons, the squad took fifth in this year’s event.
“Our large coed team definitely made a lot of improvement from years prior,” Trammel said. “We had a fair amount of difficulties these last two years with our pyramid sequence and that did very well for finals. That was what we were most proud of for them.”
The cheer division earned fifth place out of the six teams competing in the finals. Despite having the fourth-best score, the squad had a hefty 2.25 point deduction for errors in its performance.
N.C. State’s Ms. Wolf mascot, worn by junior Taylor Wilson, took sixth place among ten rival mascots. Her performance was set to a Wizard of Oz theme, integrating pop music, dancing and pep-rally style cheering for the Wolfpack.
Most sports build up to the final contest with lots of regular season games throughout the season. But unlike any other sport, cheerleading teams get just one chance to shine.
“Our season comes down to 2 minutes and 15 seconds,” Trammel said. “You have to be mistake free for 2 minutes and 15 seconds, and it’s the only time we compete. You have to be able to handle the stress of your season coming down to that short of a time.”
Despite only going to the Cheerleading Nationals once a year, the team stays busy by supporting NCSU athletics and volunteering.
Besides cheering for State’s football, basketball and gymnastics teams, among others, the team completes a staggering 700 service hours around the community every year.
The central role of the Wolfpack cheerleaders isn’t to win competitions, but rather to represent N.C. State in a good light.
“That’s what we tell kids when they try out for the program: you’re going to be the face of the University and you’re going to be in front of a lot of important people.” Trammel said. “That’s an honor and a privilege and also a big responsibility.”
