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Lew-Port cheerleading wins first state title

Sat, Mar 9th 2019 07:00 am

Lancers become first Section VI cheerleading team to win NYS crown

By David Yarger

Tribune Editor

Athletic success has been abundant at Lewiston-Porter High School this winter, and the Lancers cheerleading team added to it last weekend.

L-P’s cheerleading squad won its first New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship last Saturday in Rochester.

After clinching first place in the preliminary round, the Lancers were one of five teams remaining. From that point, Lancers coach Linda D’Anna said, “Soon as they realized that, they knew they were beasts on the mat and no one was taking them down.”

D’Anna said the finals played out just like the Section VI tournament, where the Lancers were crowned champions, as well.

At sectionals and states, the second place team was announced, and both times the team announced was not L-P, signifying first place.

When Lew-Port’s name was announced as champions, D’Anna said it was a feeling of complete joy and jubilation. She added that she told the team something she’d never mentioned to other teams before.

“I said ‘We can win this,’ ” D’Anna said. “We’re still in shock and we knew we could do it. You do your homework and research on other teams and I just knew we were in the hunt. I just knew this team had it in them.”

D’Anna said the squad nailed its routine as well, and “I’ve never seen them perform it better.

“It’s a very difficult routine. There’s no breaks. It’s two-and-a-half minutes with no breaks and they just hit everything perfectly.”

It’s been a long road for the Lancers to get to this point, D’Anna said, as the team has undergone a full year of training for the moment and she added it’s quite rewarding to see that hard work pay off.

“I feel like I’ve been crying for a week,” D’Anna said with a laugh. “I’m a teacher here at L-P and I see all the girls and I’m just so happy for them and so proud of them. I know how much they wanted this, and it’s a surreal feeling still thinking about it. It’s an amazing accomplishment and I’m so proud.”

D’Anna added that it was a complete top-to-bottom effort and the script couldn’t have been written any better.

In addition to the win being L-P’s first state title, the Lancers are also the first Section VI team to bring home a New York state cheerleading title.

Members of the Lancers cheerleading squad include: Alex Washburn, Morgan Washburn, Alyssa Redmond, Allura Taylor, Hannah Ullery, Maddie Terrana, Kelsey Doyle, Taylor Ferguson, Angel Steffen, Larissa Reid, Chloe Noah, Emily Fittante, Lily Traver, Julie Redmond and Miya Hargis.

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