SANTA ANA : Mater Dei Cheerleaders: They’re No. 1, They’re No. 1

Usually cheerleaders shout and wave for the crowd, but at John Wayne Airport on Friday the crowd cheered for them.

The Mater Dei High School cheerleaders, returning from Dallas, where they won a national competition on Wednesday, received a hero’s welcome from about 75 jubilant family members and friends as they walked off the plane.

Varsity team captain Jennifer Boese, holding a three-foot-tall trophy, said the team went into the competition hoping to retain the National Cheerleaders Assn. championship title it won last year.

“We thought we were going to do pretty good, maybe finish in the top 10, but we were really happy to win again,” she said.

The varsity song team also won first place in its category, and the junior varsity cheer team placed second in the nation.

The competition is the largest of its kind in the world, said team adviser John Merino.