Patriots cheer their way to victory
The Saint Paul Patriots made it two championships in a row, placing first at the South Region cheerleading finals at Notre Dame earlier this month.
The finals are sanctioned by (OFSAA) Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations. Banners are awarded to the winners as opposed to medals which are given out at OFSSA events.
The Patriots, who captured first place at a world competition at Disney a few years ago under coach Jennifer Benoit, placed first out of eight teams and recorded the highest score of all competitors from the three regional finals.
“We were hoping for it,” teacher/advisor Sheila DeLuca said. “We did it last year and I think I can speak for them that we looked strong. They practised twice a week in the early morning since the start of September to April and they perfected it. I can see it because I’ve watched and they are flawless but we were very much surprised when we did win.”
Grade 10 student Brooklyn Enns, who co-captains the team with Brianna Gordon and Oliva Dirisio, loves performing.
“I like cheerleading in general,” she said. “I have been an all-star cheerleader for the last 10 years. It’s a fun place to go to cheer practice and hang out and share my expertise with the team.”
She said a good cheerleader needs, “A lot of confidence, being sharp and being loud.”
While Enns is a seasoned cheerleader, Grade 10 student Andie Goyetca joined the squad this year and loved the experience.
“A lot of my friends were on team. Brooklyn and I are friends, we went to the same elementary school, and Kayla Santo is also a friend. It just seemed like a good place to have fun and be involved in the school,” Goyetca said.
The squad’s routines were choreographed by Brock students Natasha Fortuna and Janna McQuade. Fortuna is a graduate of Saint Paul.
“The coaches have these cheers and they have done them at Brock or at Saint Paul. We’ll use them and tweak them a little to make them look better,” Enns said.
Enns said the final product comes as the result of hours of practice.
“A lot of people question if we need all that practice but the more times you do it, the sharper and easier it’s going to be for everyone to do it. It’s a big dedication and show up and give it your all and make sure everything is perfect,” she said.
“It’s not (easy). It takes a lot of work for me and the other captains. It’s not a hard routine but everything needs to look clean and sharp and make sure no one is out of place and everyone is doing everything on the same time. It’s not really about the difficulty, it’s more about the execution of it and how good it looks.”
The routines are judged based on a variety of factors — crowd engagement, sharpness of the performance and if any of the stunts fail.
“All that makes up you score. Each judge looks at a specific area and how well you’re succeeding in each area,” Enns said.
The squad also perform at school football games, pep rallies, open houses, Grade 9 night as well as at interscholastic competitions.
“They are cheerleaders for the school. They bring the motivation and excitement and enthusiasm to the school,” DeLuca said.
Members of the team are:
•Brianna Gordon (Captain)
•Brooklyn Enns (Captain)
•Oliva Dirisio (Captain)
•Kayla Santo
•Melina Armenti
•Emma Keltos
•Juliette Sullivan
•Kimberly Saunders
•Natalie Matyas
•Roseline Sullivan
•Gabby Forgione
•Lilianna Grisafi
•Ireland Allen
•Olivia Vankleef
•Andie Goyetca
•Yuvati Rave-Alexander
Coaches: Natasha Fortuna, Janna McQuade, Sheila DeLuca.
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