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Montoursville varsity cheerleaders, presented bid to the National Competition in Disney

By JASON KLOSE

Sun-Gazette Correspondent

The most prestigious cheerleading championship in the country is the National High School Cheerleading Championship (NHSCC), held at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, and nationally televised on ESPN and ESPN2 to over 100 million homes and 32 countries nationwide each year. In December, the Montoursville Varsity Cheerleaders attended a competition and were presented a bid to the National Competition in Disney. They will be traveling to Nationals, to be held at Walt Disney World ESPN World Wide of Sports Complex in Orlando, Feb. 8 to 10.

The Montoursville squad is led by Ashley Weaver, a fifth grade teacher at C.E. McCall Middle School, and is currently in her fourth year as the head varsity coach.

About a year ago, several cheerleaders presented a Power Point presentation to the coaching staff, presenting their hopes and dreams of competing at Nationals during the 2018 and 2019 season. While the coaching staff chuckled during the presentation, they knew deep down that it was a dream not only for the Montoursville Varsity Cheerleaders, but any high school squad.

“They presented the pros and cons of making this dream a reality — obviously, the cost being the only con,” Weaver said. “After meeting as a coaching staff, we decided to do what we could to help this dream become a reality for our girls.”

The girls had to fulfill several requirements to be able to reach their goal. The first was to attend a Varsity Spirit Camp and participate in the Squad Credentialing Program. Coincidentally, attending Pine Forest UCA Cheer Camp has been a Montoursville cheerleading tradition for decades. The second requirement was to attend a UCA regional competition.

“We attended Kutztown UCA Regionals on December 9,” Weaver said. “At regionals, we placed third and won a bid to compete at Nationals.”

Weaver graduated from Montoursville in 2003 where she cheered for four years on the varsity cheer squad. She then cheered at Lycoming College while attending for one semester. During her college years, she coached the Montoursville Junior High Cheer squad.

“I was able to continue coaching for several years until my husband and I decided we were ready to start a family,” she said. “After having children, the cheer coaching position became available and I decided I’d like to get back into coaching.”

The Montoursville Cheerleading program takes approximately two to three weeks off each year in the spring. Otherwise, the girls are constantly training to be the best they can be.

“In the summer, they committed to coming to morning summer conditioning workouts four days a week,” Weaver said. “Once preseason hit in August, the girls continued practicing four to five days a week to get to where we are at now.”

Competing in Nationals means the world to the girls and is truly a dream come true.

“They set this goal, put the time, work and effort in that was needed to get to this point, and on Dec. 9, (2018,) their dream became a reality,” Weaver said. “Their expectation of competing at Nationals is to have fun!”

Weaver said the girls also are looking forward to seeing what competition on the national level is like.

“When I first started coaching four years ago, the squad wasn’t even able to compete,” she said. “Three years ago, after seeking approval, Montoursville is now able to compete at the PIAA Competitive Spirit, and UCA Regionals. The girls are so thankful that they are able to continue to grow as a program, and they are continuing to improve and set goals that were once dreams.”

Weaver said she is so thankful and honored to coach this wonderful group of girls, who push themselves each and every practice and make her job as their coach so easy.

“My goal when I came on as a head coach four years ago was to continue to make each year better than the previous and to develop a program in which girls wanted to be a part of and develop a great pride for their school and community,” she said. “To compete at a national level this year is surpassing all expectations. I am overjoyed with this opportunity for them and this program and I couldn’t be happier to be on this journey with them.”

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