The past weekend Santiago Cheer Squad went to Jamz National Cheerleading Competition at the New Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas. The girls did a range of routines that featured dancing, cheerleading stunts, and tumbling.
“The music started and played for about 30 seconds before shutting off completely. For the rest of the routine we had to just count everything out,” said Cheer Captain Ali Diecks (12). The cheerleaders were in a state of shock when the music skipped and then completely turned off.
“We were devastated when the music turned off since it was nationals,” said a fellow captain, Rachel Ruggieri (11).
Despite the technical glitch, Santiago’s cheerleaders were able to perform under pressure and still remain at a high standard. The cheer team placed second overall in their division, which was a great achievement considering the team did not expect to place in the top three after the hiccup in their music.
Coach Sally Diecks commented on the girls performance saying, “When the music stopped I was confident that my girls could make it till the end; I’m just disappointed that the audience didn’t get the full experience of the performance.”
While their routine received second place, the Sharks hope to continue their hard work in order to win first place next year.
