The winter cheerleading season is underway with 29 middle school and high school students participating, making it the largest cheer squad in school history. The team has ambitious goals, with plans to cheer at both home and away basketball games and to participate in several cheerleading competitions in the spring of 2022. The squad cheered for the first time at the December 7 home Varsity basketball games against Doane Academy and traveled to Pennsylvania on December 10 to cheer for ACS at the Delco Basketball Tournament.
Congratulations to five of the team members, who have already seen competitive cheer success in a local area meet. 7th graders Ashlee Alford, Annalena DiMaio, April Eaves, Mackenzie Flynn, and Abigail Kelley, who are part of the Varsity EHT Eagles Cheerleading Team, won first place in the Varsity Division at the Egg Harbor Township High School Cheer Competition on November 14.
The ACS cheerleading team has been practicing three to four times a week since early November, led by Head Coach Morgan Gibson and Assistant Coach Kelly Flynn.
Gibson said several new training activities have been added for the squad this season. On November 27, the co-owners of Reign Athletics, a cheer gym in Moorestown, NJ that runs a competitive All-Star cheerleading program, led the ACS cheerleaders in a 7-hour practice to teach them a competition routine to use in the spring cheer meets and to perform at some half-times (see photo above).
“We were so excited and pleased with the way Kayla Price and Tyler Washington from Reign Athletics worked with our squad and helped them move up to the next level,” Gibson said. “They were also impressed with the skill level of our team and categorized our team as a Level 2 cheerleading squad.”
Gibson said the cheerleaders will also be participating in a 6-week program at Blake’s Gymnastics in Northfield, meeting weekly to work with the Blake’s coaches on improving their tumbling skills.
Congratulations to the 29 students who are part of this year’s Cheerleading Team — Ashlee Alford, Ava Barberio, McKenzie Cubbage, Victoria Dade, Annalena DiMaio, Rebecca DiMaio, April Eaves, Mackenzie Flynn, Makenzie Fresh, Kylie Jackson, Grace Johnson, Melody Kane, Abigail Kelley, Rielly Kisielewski, Ava Lombardi, Autumn Loo, Kiara Loo, Ja’Niyah Martin, Jadelyn Maurer, Lydia McCarthy, Tara McCorkle, Heather Milstead, Nadia Pearson, Sophia Puglisi, Chelsie Richards, Haven Sanchez, Isabella Santos, Makayla Tomlinson, and Geanna Ulerio.