When the five-woman Ladies of the Pack stunt group competed in the Canam College Nationals last weekend, they were not expecting to walk away from the warm sands of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with a first place trophy in their hands and medals around their necks.
The Ladies of the Pack, the University’s all-girl cheerleading stunt team competed for the first time in the stunt division. They had been practicing since the summer for other competitions.
“As a team we’ve been working since August,” Karla Anderson, a senior in elementary education, said.
However, it was an impromptu decision made right before the competition to compete in the stunt division.
“We just decided we wanted to go like two weeks ago,” Reece said. “We went in early and practiced.”
The path to victory was paved with many obstacles.
When the five-woman Ladies of the Pack stunt group competed in the Canam College Nationals last weekend, they were not expecting to walk away from the warm sands of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with a first place trophy in their hands and medals around their necks.
The Ladies of the Pack, the University’s all-girl cheerleading stunt team competed for the first time in the stunt division. They had been practicing since the summer for other competitions.
“As a team we’ve been working since August,” Karla Anderson, a senior in elementary education, said.
However, it was an impromptu decision made right before the competition to compete in the stunt division according to Ashley Reece, a junior in human biology.
“We just decided we wanted to go like two weeks ago,” Reece said. “We went in early and practiced.”
The path to victory was paved with many obstacles.
“There were very long practices and a lot of injuries. A girl broke her ankle, and we went down from 28 to 18 teammates because some people couldn’t pay the fees,” Reece said. Out of the 18 team members, only five competed in the stunt division.
All contestants at the competition were subjected to thorough grading by the judges.
“Judges had score sheets and they gave grades based on stunt, basket tossing, difficulty level, motion, transition and overall appeal,” Reece said.
They had to compete with two other stunt groups, including Union College, the defending champion. Union College had won for the past three years, according to Reece.
In the end it was The Ladies of the Pack stunt group that triumphed with a score of 129, with Union College came in second with a score of 119 and Charleston Southern received a score of 112.
Like all reigning titans that fall to the underdog, Union College was not too pleased that their victory was snatched away by the “new kids on the block.”
“Union College was pretty mad that they had lost to us,” Reece said.
Along with having the winning score for the stunt division, the girls also held one of the most impressive scores for the whole day among the coed and All-Girl Cheerleading competition.
“We were really proud because we did everything without a coach. We made our own routine in a week and a half,” Reece said.
This victory serves as motivation for the Ladies of the Pack to continue competing in the stunt division with the prospect of also being a consecutive champion themselves. It is a combination of luck and skill that will keep bringing them to victory, perhaps even surpassing the reign of Union College.
“We want to continue the stunt group,” Reece said. “We went into it just wanting to do it for fun. We weren’t expecting to win.”
Their success in Myrtle Beach brings forth their confidence in their next competition April 7-8 when they compete for the National Cheerleading Association College Nationals.
Anderson said she is optimistic that the Ladies of the Pack and the rest of the cheerleading team will do well.
“As a team we are all competing along with the All-Girl Red squad, Dance Team, Mascot and Coed Cheer squad in Daytona Beach, Florida,” Anderson said. “As an entire cheerleading program at N.C. State we should do very well in all of the divisions.”
Alt:
Team members
-Jessica Humphrey, a senior in business and marketing education
-Ashley Reece, a junior in human biology
-Karla Anderson, a senior in elementary education
-Amanda Thompson, a sophomore in physics
-Hayden Vann, a sophomore in business administration
Alt:
Team members
-Jessica Humphrey, a senior in business and marketing education
-Ashley Reece, a junior in human biology
-Karla Anderson, a senior in elementary education
-Amanda Thompson, a sophomore in physics
-Hayden Vann, a sophomore in business administration
