嚜篦"id":223834,"date":"2024-04-23T10:03:45","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T14:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=223834"},"modified":"2024-05-13T18:23:23","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T22:23:23","slug":"montclair-cheer-and-dance-teams-win-national-titles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2024\/04\/23\/montclair-cheer-and-dance-teams-win-national-titles\/","title":{"rendered":"Montclair Cheer and Dance Teams Win National Titles"},"content":{"rendered":"

As defending D3 champions, the 91弊莉 State University <\/span>Coed Cheer Team<\/span><\/a> knew their competitors at the National Cheerleaders Association & National Dance Association College Nationals in Daytona Beach were gunning for them. They rose to the challenge, winning back-to-back championship titles in the <\/span>Advanced Small Coed Division 3 competition and returned to Montclair with towering trophies to add to their collection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Montclair\u2019s <\/span>Dance Team<\/span><\/a> also finished first in D3 Team Performance, bringing their number of wins to three (2018 and a virtual win in 2021). The team also finished second in D3 Jazz, and the Intermediate Small Coed D3, which included mascot Rocky, placed sixth at the mid-April event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese two programs are becoming Division III powerhouses,\u201d says<\/span> Montclair\u2019s Coordinator of Intramural and Club Sports Kyle Bianchi,<\/span> adding that he admires how much the teams support one another. <\/span>\u201cThis is special. We traveled with a group of 65, and to do that with such ease and success is really a testament to their professionalism as young adults.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A — Montclair\u2019s Shayla Carthon rejoices with the cheer team\u2019s trophy at Daytona Beach.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an overwhelming feeling knowing how hard it was for us to make it to Daytona, and we just won back-to-back, it feels like a fever dream,\u201d says junior cheerleader Shayla Carthon.<\/span><\/p>\n
It was also a sweet win for first-year cheerleader Paul Bonilla. \u201cIt doesn’t feel real,\u201d says the\u00a0<\/span>sophomore Exercise Science major.<\/span><\/p>\n
Carthon, also an Exercise Science major, estimates she\u2019s been thrown into the air thousands of times since cheerleading practice began last August. She and other team members performed \u201cthe shotgun,\u201d which involves getting tossed high up into the air, backwards and being caught by second-level cheer team members who are standing on the shoulders of other cheerleaders. It was a new move added to the team\u2019s stunts this year.<\/span><\/p>\n
The<\/span> second win in as many years <\/span>made getting accidentally kicked in the head, a scar on her arm and nearly dropped by spotters worth it, Carthon says. \u201cI just like the performance aspect of it. You have the competitiveness, but the physical and mental performance is where I really show.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
The shotgun requires trust all around. \u201cI have to trust that they catch me, and I also have to trust that they throw me in the right direction; they also have to trust me to make sure that I’m not going over [too far] or going forward,\u201d Carthon says, smiling. \u201cWhat fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Montclair was the D3 team to beat. \u201cEverybody wanted to take us down this year,\u201d Bonilla says, adding, \u201cNow, we\u2019ve really got a big target on our backs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
$\"Montclair\u2019s$
Montclair\u2019s Dance Team members stand in formation behind their Division III national championship trophy in Dayton Beach, Florida.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Jumping into the cold water at Daytona Beach was the sweetest dip for senior Dance Team members\u00a0 Inez Rodriguez and Jenna Lipari Pazienza.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cWe celebrated by running in the ocean with the cheer team with our costumes on, which we’ve been looking forward to since our freshman years,\u201d adds Lipari Pazienza, an Accounting major who will return for an MBA from the Feliciano School of Business as part of the 4+1 program. The cold plunge is tradition for dance and cheer teams from across the country after winning the top spot in their respective divisions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
While roommates Rodriguez and Lipari Pazienza have been on the dance team since their freshman year, \u201cThis was our first time going to Nationals. We were on the team when they won virtually but it wasn’t the same experience at all. Going to Daytona and hitting that stage with all the lights for the first time \u2013 and last time \u2013 was honestly an experience that I’ll never forget,\u201d says Lipari Pazienza. \u201cI wish I could relive it every day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Rodriguez, a Public Relations and Social Media major, had a cheering squad that included her parents, sister, uncle and friends. \u201cI had a lot of support there, and it just made it 10 times better knowing that, not only me but, a lot of the other girls have so much support.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Lipari Pazienza adds: \u201cWe had support in Daytona and back home; it was everywhere.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Smiling ear to ear, Rodriguez says: \u201cWe put in a lot of work this season so ultimately, getting to Daytona was a win for us, being able to win the national championship title was even better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/span>Story by Staff Writer<\/span> **Sylvia A. Martinez<\/b><\/a>. <\/span>\u00a0Photos courtesy of Montclair Cheer and Dance teams.<\/span><\/p>\n**