On February 16, varsity competition cheer took the mat for the last time at the Anaheim Convention Center. Since August, the team had been working to perfect their 2-and-a-half-minute routine for the USA Spirit Nationals. High school teams came from all over the West Coast to cheer, dance, and even show off their mascot routines. With a 21-person team, varsity comp competes in the Varsity Novice Non-Tumbling Competition division.

For freshman Danielle Fern, this was her first time attending Nationals. Fern said, “I felt nervous but super excited to perform with my team.” This was a common feeling, for not only first-year cheerleaders, but also returning athletes.

Junior Elizabeth VonderBrink was excited for the final competition: “I felt super excited to get close to my teammates and compete with the seniors one last time.”

Comp “hit zero,” which means that every skill was executed and no flyer fell. Their final score was a 93.77, placing seventh overall, but only 1.5 points away from the first-place team. The closeness in scores indicated that all of the teams came prepared for Nationals, creating a tough competition.

Senior Claire Diamantidis reflected on how she felt going into her final performance, “Honestly I felt really great because our team was just in a really, really good position. My nerves weren’t high at all. I had trust in my team, and they didn’t let me down.”

Before competing, each athlete had their own fears, feelings, and thoughts relating to the routine. Some athletes got nervous, while others felt confident. Although Diamantidis didn’t have high nerves, she did admit that “the most nerve-wracking part is during warm-ups before [we] go on to compete because if something doesn’t hit backstage it kind of sends nerves throughout [our] team.”

VonderBrink agreed, “I felt a little nervous right before competing but my teammates always help calm me down. The most nerve-racking part was probably right before we went to perform when we were all standing behind the stages, just because you are listening to all the other teams perform and there is anticipation while you wait for your turn.”

For some athletes, this National Competition was an ending to their athletic career at Campo, while for others, it kick-started a future of competitive cheerleading.

Fern said, “It was farther away and I have never been to a competition this far away before so it showed more commitment and I feel like it showed more of how we worked up to it.”

While Fern had nothing to compare this year’s competition to, Diamantidis expressed the differences and similarities between various seasons. Diamantidis said, “This competition was different because I would say our team had a lot of practice and our team really wanted to win, and that is a really good mentality that we haven’t had in past years.”

Sophomore Dalila Gardner agreed that the 2023-2024 season differed from the previous year. Gardner said, “We did better than we did last year and I am a lot closer with the team now, [by] meeting the new freshmen coming on the team.”

This year’s Nationals was especially memorable for VonderBrink because she was unable to do the full routine at last year’s competition due to an injury. VonderBrink explained, “This year I actually got to stunt because I didn’t have a concussion. It was more rewarding at the end knowing that I was a part of hitting the routine and hitting zero.”

While there was work and dedication that went into the routine performed at Nationals, the team also enjoyed off-mat activities at their final competition.

Fern said that her favorite part of Nationals was “spending time with girls on the team”. Diamantidis had similar thoughts and said, “My favorite part of Nationals was getting to team bond with everyone. I got really close with my teammates and I would say it was the best Nationals I’ve had in all my four years.”

Vonderbrink also enjoyed the post-competition activities, “My favorite part was after we competed when we all got to hang out with each other and go to Disneyland the next day.”

With the 2023-2024 Competitive Cheerleading Season ending on an incredible note, the athletes each reflect on the year in different ways. While the seniors hope to remember all of the moments throughout their athletic careers at Campo, the cheerleaders who plan on returning next year have already started to prepare.