High Life: A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
The Santa Margarita High School cheerleading squad placed seventh among 96 teams competing in the annual National High School Cheerleading Championship last week in Orlando, Fla.
The 16-member squad from the Rancho Santa Margarita school qualified for the national championships by winning a regional competition held at Loyola Marymount University in November.
“They couldn’t have done any better, and that’s why they’re a little disappointed,” said Jodi Sweet, the squad’s coach. “Ours is a ‘show’ performance, which of course is the style in California, and based upon our evaluation, it’s probably not what the judges were looking for.”
The winners were a group from Ouachita Parish High School in Louisiana.
It was the Santa Margarita squad’s second trip to the national championships. Last year, against 87 squads, the team placed eighth.
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