Cheerleaders Finish Third Nationally

Third-best 11- and 12-year old cheerleading squad in the country. And among the most spirited teams as well.  In their very first try.

“We’re bringing home a real big trophy,” said Pat Martel, coach of the Barrington Pop Warner Junior Midget cheerleading team.

The squad competed this morning, Dec. 7, at Walt Disney World and learned about four hours ago that they finished among the top three.

“We were looking to finish in the top 10,” said Martel. “The finish was beyond our expectations. They did very, very well.”

The team competed against 16 other teams from across the country. Their starting time was 9:45 am. About two and a half minutes later they were done.

“We didn’t see any other teams compete,” said Martel. “So we just had to wait to find out where we finished.”

“The girls are celebrating now at the park,” she said about 3:30 pm. “They’ll be celebrating more tonight at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.”

All of the teams are invited to attend the competition-ending festivities.

To make their stay even more special, Martel said, the girls were nominated in their category for the Spirit of Sport Award. It rewards sportsmanship in all aspects of friendly competition.

The squad was the first team from Barrington Pop Warner to ever qualify for a national competition. The girls returns to Barrington Thursday afternoon.