FINALS ROUND AT THE ARENA...
We never expected to be in the finals round after a shaky performance at pre-lims, but we were lucky because we were the last group announced to come back the next day. After a night of squad bonding and lots of extra practice as prescribed by Eric, we arrived at the Sundome refreshed and confident to deliver the cleanest routine ever... and it must have worked because we went home with not just any trophy, but the first place one! Eric had to excuse himself after we were announced to cry... because he's tough on us as a captain and coach, we all know that there isn't a time ever that we haven't done our best as a team, and he's always proud of us for that; always. Go Tritons!
After being announced, we spirited on to the floor and placed our props in position to begin our routine. The crowd hadn't seen many teams from California, so they were hushed and very attentive when we took our places.
Our music started, and we grooved to "Come on, Ride the Train" before throwing liberties and a basket toss sequence, followed by an all-guy stunt combination which earned much applause and sounds of shock from the crowd.
Our formation changes were fast and clean as we moved to our places for our pyramid sequence in the cheer sector of the routine. Each routine is required to have a music sector in addition to a non-music, crowd-leading sector.
We took a basic 2-2-1 arm stand pyramid...
and sponged it back up to a high split pyramid while leading the crowd in yelling for the Tritons. We were overwhelmed by the crowd as they cheered and yelled back, causing us to smile and yell even louder, if that was possible.
After the cheer segment of the routine, the music started again; this time with Ricky Ricardo's "Cuban Pete" from the movie "The Mask". Here we paired off and swiveled our hips to the strong salsa beat. Our routine was awarded the highest points for creativity, and the crowd's applause and encouragement only confirmed that. Intricate tumbling passes completed this part or our routine.
Then after a partner stunting sequence of chairs transitioned to high torches retake to arabesques, we attacked the spectators with popular swing dancing moves in addition to an all-girl stunt combination and a very difficult jump combination of toe-touch/toe-touch/toe-touch/round-the-world. This ended our routine and brought the crowd to their feet in thunderous applause. It was a great feeling knowing that we did our best... we couldn't have asked for more.
After smiling for the crowd and judges one last time, we picked up our things and cleared the floor. We were soooo exhausted, but we felt great!!!
After receiving our award and trophy, we were given individual gold medals in addition to a bunch of gift certificates, and were whisked to a room for a championship photo shoot! We couldn't believe it... we were #1!!!
Once everything settled down in the arena, we found our way back to the practice gym to gather our things and take final pictures.
Even though we felt tired and beat, we still managed to stunt and smile with the trophy!
How many pictures do we have with the trophy?!!!
And sitting quietly with the biggest smile on her face was our Coach Misa, seen here with her National Champion Coach plaque.
We'll be back next year even stronger!!!
* * * * * * * * * *
Back to the Co-ed Spirit Squad's home page
