 Photo by Becky Polaski Elk County Catholic High School’s competition cheerleading squad repeated as champions of the District 9 Cheerleading Competition on Saturday, Feb. 20. Pictured, front row from left, are Emily Agosti, Alexis Schlimm, Jenna Zitzler, Hannah Cappiello, Hannah McGowan, and Molly Murray. Second row are Brittany Auman, Kathleen Kneidl, Shelby Gorman, Crystal Hanes, Jodi Meyer, and Erica Wehler. Back row are Ashley Seelye, Megan Dornish, Joanne Aiello, Ally Brock and Maria Gizmondi.
By Becky Polaski
Staff Writer
The Elk County Catholic High School cheerleading squad repeated as champions of the District 9 Cheerleading Competition on Saturday, Feb. 20. The competition was held starting at 11 a.m. at Elk County Catholic High School.
DuBois Central Catholic was the runner-up in the competition. Participating schools included Kane Area, Keystone Area, DuBois Central Catholic, Punxsutawney Area, Clarion-Limestone and Elk County Catholic. The number of participants in this year’s competition was slightly down from last year when nine teams competed. Elk County Catholic High School Cheerleading Coach Marlene Stubber explained that the District 9 Cheerleading Competition was on hiatus for several years before being revived in 2009. “It was a good win today and there were a lot of strong teams here,” Stubber said following the competition. “The girls’ routine was not flawless today, but very close. I thought that they did a really great job of bringing the energy during their cheer and we had a lot of good fan support today.” The District 9 Cheerleading Competition was the final competition of the Elk County Catholic cheerleaders’ 2009-2010 season. Stubber noted that two members of the team, Hannah Cappiello and Jenna Zitzler, are seniors and will be missed next year. “This will be their last turn on the mat,” Stubber said. “This is it for our season. It is nice to finish with a big win like this and I’m just really proud of all the work they’ve done this season.” With losing only two seniors, Stubber added that the team will have a nice base for next season. According to Stubber, some of the highlights of the team’s season include taking third place at the Keystone State Games, third place at the Pennsylvania State Cheerleading Competition in Johnstown, along with several first and second place finishes. The team took second place in competitions at Kane and Bald Eagle, and first place at Johnsonburg, Ridgway and Keystone high schools. Stubber also noted that the first place team at the Keystone State Games ended up being the national champion in their division. “So we got to perform up against the national champs this year and we did not do badly against them,” Stubber said.
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