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Sports

Haverford Cheerleaders Make Top 5

With a solid performance, the team comes in third.

Haverford High School hosted the Central League Cheerleading Championship on Saturday and the varsity team placed third.

The Fords went up against nine other teams, including Penncrest, Marple Newtown, Springfield, Strath Haven, Upper Darby, Ridley, Radnor, Garnet Valley and Conestoga.

Upper Darby won both the junior varsity and varsity categories. For the junior varsity, Ridley placed second and Springfield placed third. Varsity placed five teams, with Ridley in second, Haverford in third, Springfield in fourth and Marple rounding it out. 

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Though not every team could place in the top spots, every team showed great talent and every girl gave it her all, in a competition that is intense and follows strict guidelines. Each routine had to be no longer than two and a half minutes long, and combined a mixture of dancing, tumbling, stunts and cheering.

All of the girls are work year round to perfect their craft. Tryouts begin in April, there are spring and summer practices and camps, and the teams go full-throttle once school starts. Not only are they cheering on the football fields and basketball courts, but are also practicing for competitions. The culmination is this Central League Cheerleading Championship.

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Penncrest’s cheerleaders and coaches had hoped for the best.

“March is really their only month off,” says Penncrest coach Kristen Bailey. “You have to respect these girls. They keep up their GPAs, are always on top of their schoolwork, plus other extracurricular activities. They learn a lot about time management, which is a great life lesson. It shapes their character.”

Family and friends came out in droves to watch their girls performing at the top of their game. 

“I give all these girls a lot of credit for their athletic ability," says a Jan Ficther, a loyal parent in the crowd.

"It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there like that. What’s good is all the girls support each other, and support other schools’ teams."

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