On Saturday, Jan. 22, Fremd Cheer hosted their second annual cheerleading invitational. 102 teams attended, 18 of which competed against Fremd. After four hours of competition in the coed division, these Vikes were the last to perform. This performance is what gave them their first divisional victory of the season.

Compared to other sports where athletes are given periods of rest with game time (via timeouts, transitions between quarters/periods, etc/) competitive cheerleading provides no such thing. All cheerleaders must work together to perform at their highest ability for two minutes and thirty seconds. In those two minutes and thirty seconds athletes tumble, stunt, jump, and hit their motions with execution. There’s no room for error. In addition, athletes are unaware of how their competitors before them performed, making it even harder for competitive cheerleaders to create a moment to regroup as they perform.

Senior Captain Nyla Jones described how competing at home was beneficial.

“There was a strong sense of pride walking onto that mat. It felt like a performance and less like a competition,” Jones said.

This feeling of their routine being a performance, rather than a competition, was said to be a key contributor to them hitting zero deductions.

“There were so many people there for just us and I felt like if we let them down we’d be doing them a disservice,” Senior captain Matthiew Beebe said. “However, I feel like these people amped me up the second I got on the floor. My nerves turned into excitement… and the people…are ultimately what kept filling my bucket throughout the routine.”

This win was just in time for their sectional competition which happened on Jan. Twenty ninth at Belvidere High School. These vikings placed third in their division, allowing them a spot at the IHSA state cheerleading competition.

When asked about what aspects of the routine should be kept and changed for this competition, head coach Dana Musinski highlighted the need to execute and to gain tenths in all aspects of the routine.

“One of the many things I love about this team is that they are hungry to continue to grow and improve each and every day,” Musinski said. “We will keep looking for ways to earn tenths every day at practice, focus on executing with the right technique as consistently as possible and just continue to enjoy every day we are together.”

These Vikings have made history with their first at home victory, and look to continue their success as they take on state in the coed division this Friday and Saturday.