Group photo of the Cheer Team
@MANHATTANCHEER / INSTAGRAM
Maizy Swift, Senior Writer
This year, the Manhattan University cheer team attended the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) College Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida, after months of preparation and hard-work.
The D-1 team took all season to prepare, bringing it there all on the Daytona stage. To be considered eligible for qualification, the team must meet specific requirements, as listed by the NCA.
According to the NCA website, “squads may qualify for the NCA & NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship at NCA & NDA Collegiate Resident Camps, Day Camps or Elite Home Camps. NCA & NDA will award bids to Nationals based on the team’s successful completion of specific requirements in the areas of participation, conduct and camp achievements.”
@MANHATTANCHEER / INSTAGRAM
Krysha De Guzman, a junior political science major, is the team coordinator for the MU cheer team. De Guzman described her experience preparing for nationals, and operating behind-the-scenes.
“We have spent hours practicing throughout the season, especially at our ‘bootcamp’ during spring break,” De Guzman said. “During this time, we all had to come back from spring break early to drill in our routine for nationals.”
The hard work paid off, as the cheer team was able to score a new record, placing 26th in their division.
“We had actually reached the highest score that has ever been achieved in the history of our school’s program at the cheerleading nationals,” De Guzman said.
Additionally, the competition served as a great bonding experience for the girls, fostering a sense of camaraderie and teamwork within the group.
“Being together as a team in one household truly made us much closer and stronger together,” De Guzman said. “The few days we had together made our bond more comfortable than it ever was before.”
De Guzman hopes to continue working with the team to prepare for next year.
“I personally want to make sure that I am able to truly balance cheer with everyday life,” De Guzman said. “Cheer takes up a lot of time as we practice three times a week from August until April, so as the next season approaches, I want to ensure that there is still a healthy balance, and that we as a team are able to bond and get even closer from the beginning.”
The team faced difficulties in trying to get permission to attend nationals, which was priorly discussed in a previous Quadrangle article titled: “Cheerleading to Attend Nationals Despite Uncertainty.” Ultimately, the team made a petition in order to go.
“The Manhattan University cheerleading team has worked tirelessly all this season—practicing, fundraising and representing our university,” the petition stated. “After earning a qualifying bid to compete at Nationals in Daytona, one of the highest honors in collegiate cheerleading, the team was informed MONTHS later that the university will not allow them to attend this year.”
De Guzman reiterated how much work the team had to do to get their own funding, without direct funding from the university. “We had fundraised the entire year by ourselves in order to get the money we needed for flights, practice gears, stay accommodations and meals,” De Guzman said. “We worked hard the entire season with limited practice space and zero funding to get to nationals, which truly showed how hard each girl cares for this team.”