Emily Wood
Reporter
On Jan. 28th, the NCHS cheerleaders competed in their first competition of the winter season at Nonnewaug High School. The girls dominated, winning first place in every category they were entered in and leaving with a total score of 78 points.
“It is really exciting because it is such a big accomplishment. We have never been so successful in our first competition, it’s a really big confidence booster,” said senior captain, Caitlin Dwyer.
The girls walked away with first place in the All-Girl Varsity team division, Partner Stunt Division and Best Team Stunts, beating out other FCIAC teams like Fairfield Warde, Trinity Catholic and Westhill High School.
The success did not come without some hardship in the beginning of the season. “We were able to bounce back from a lot of injuries and people quitting,” said senior captain Nicole Guisti.
All the captains agreed that the team is much more united this season, which contributed to their success in Nonnewaug. “Everyone on the team is a lot closer than last year, which is good because we are a small team of only fifteen girls,” said Nicole.
“I was really scared beforehand, because it was the first competition for some of the new girls on our team. I was nervous to see how the freshman would react to being on a different mat,” said Caitlin.“Being on a new mat and in a competition is not something you can really practice”.
In addition to the team’s overall success, senior captain Emily Lambdin swept away the individual events, winning first place in Individual Tumbling and Individual Jumping. Nicole also tied for third place in the individual jumping competition.
Looking further into the season, the team has set many goals in which they want to achieve. “Obviously, we have goals to complete specific stunts, but besides a high level of difficulty, I think we all really want to feel accomplished,” said Cailtin. “It’s my final year, so I want to make it the best it’s ever been”.
