The Manitowoc Lincoln High School Cheer Team has earned its first-ever bid to compete at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship in Orlando, Florida, next month.
Coach Jessica Gomm tells seehafernews.com that they scored 81-point-six, well above the 78 points required, in a Game Day virtual qualifier on December 12th against more than 100 teams and found out recently that they received a bid to compete in nationals.
Gomm notes that Game Day Cheer mirrors a real sporting event, emphasizing sideline spirit and crowd engagement, with elements including band chants, situational responses, cheers, and fight songs.
Gomm adds that the competition was designed for spirit squads to showcase skills used in actual games, often featuring live music and props such as pom-poms, signs, and megaphones to enhance the authentic game-day atmosphere on the competition mat.
Senior Peyton Schwartz shared how meaningful this moment has been, telling seehafernews.com, “When I found out we received a bid to compete at nationals, I was thrilled. Being able to do something so amazing my senior year made this moment even more special to me.”
Lillian Olive is proud of how this team has really grown together, saying,” We’ve come a long way, and now we are excited to show off what got us to where we are now!”
(Jessica) Gomm adds that “this season has been filled with growth, grit, and teamwork, and our cheerleaders are proud to represent Lincoln on a national stage.”
They’ll compete against 44 other teams in their division from around the country, with preliminaries on Friday, February 6th.
Lincoln is scheduled to take the stage at 11:25 a.m. local time, and you can catch their performance online at Varsity TV.
