Aliso Niguel High Cheers Its Song Squad

The words still seem unreal for Aliso Niguel High School’s Song Elite team: national champions.

The nine-member squad returned from Dallas this week, where it was selected as the nation’s top song squad by the National Cheerleaders Assn.

“We’re stoked,” team member Brenna Freedland, 17, said. “People I don’t even know say ‘congratulations’ to me.”

In the competition, the Song Elite team bested squads from 20 other schools and unseated three-time defending champion Mater Dei High School of Santa Ana. The Aliso Niguel group danced away with the victory to a mix of music with a love theme.

The Mater Dei team came in second, and Anaheim’s Esperanza High School finished fifth.

The Aliso Niguel team, which placed third last year, was determined to win this time.

“We wanted those jackets,” co-captain Autumn Gash, 18, said of the distinctive black bomber jackets that the winners take home. The team also received a championship banner to hang in the school gymnasium.

The squad’s victory is being applauded by the entire school. When the competitors returned from Dallas, they were greeted at John Wayne Airport by parents, friends and fellow students carrying congratulatory signs, balloons and flowers.

The team was also honored at a schoolwide assembly and on “Good Day LA,” a morning TV talk show.

Advisor Leesa Bellesi said that team members had worked since August to get ready for the national competition but were still surprised when they took the top honor, given that the school is just 4 years old.

“It’s a huge dream come true,” Bellesi said. “They have accomplished something incredible.”

The team members are not resting on their laurels. A day after returning from the competition, they were back on the mat preparing for the USA Nationals next week in Anaheim.

“We’re tired but excited,” said Natalie Dahl, 17. “This is something we’ll always remember.”