On January 26th and 27th, 2024, Spring Valley’s Jv and Varsity cheerleaders took the mat at JAMZ Nationals. With Jv winning first place against Lone Peak and Mililani High School, and Varsity taking home third while competing against Palo Verde, Highland, and Caldera High School; the coaches and teammates are excited to move on to the next big thing, USA Nationals. Although JAMZ is considered a national competition for states like Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California, USA Nationals holds a bigger competition with twice the amount of competitors around the nation.

“JAMZ was the Jv stunt group’s nationals while USA later in February is the nationals for our Varsity team,” said JV base Ally Tovar. “ I am so glad that the group stunt pulled through with a win before our season concluded. I’m hoping to see how Varsity will handle the pressure at USA.”

Just weeks prior at Desert Oasis on January 6th, the Varsity cheer team took home 1st place, competing in the All Girl Advanced level 3 division. After dedicating their winter break to upgrading their skills, the team achieved a higher score than competitors Palo Verde and Desert Oasis and were able to qualify for USA Nationals.

“It definitely was difficult as a team to win against two teams at Desert Oasis, then jump down to third place at JAMZ,” said Varsity backspot Naomi Mesfin. “Palo is our biggest competitor at every competition, and beating them at Desert Oasis helped our confidence significantly. It’s frustrating to know that we had the potential to win at JAMZ.”

After day one of JAMZ, which is 25% of your final score, the team ended with 3.5 in deductions and after day two, 2.5 in deductions.

“It certainly was not our best performance this past weekend, “ said Varsity base Nina Durakovic. “Considering this is my senior year, I like to cherish every competition with my teammates, and I wish we were able to put out a routine that we were proud of.”

Another Varsity athlete, Natalie Newman said “ I don’t think we are upset that Palo Verde and Highland High School beat us, “ said the flyer. “Obviously it would be amazing to win first, but I think we had high expectations that we couldn’t meet. This experience will hopefully push us to work harder.”

Luckily, the Varsity team has another chance at perfecting their routine with a competition on February 10th. “No matter what happens, if we win or lose, I am so glad that I got to spend my senior year with the people I love most, “ said Nina Durakovic. “I am looking forward to our trip to USA, because it will be the last time I really bond with the team.”

With USA being only three weeks away, Varsity aims to hit zero, a phrase used to describe having no deductions, when they practice their routine.

“ I think it’s so important that we stay consistent and confident with our skills these next few weeks,” said Varsity main base Taytem Cerul. “We have to assure ourselves that there is a chance at winning a national championship title if we fully commit and trust everything we have been working towards since the start of summer.”

The team is working to perfect their current routine, while also trying to enhance the difficulty to give them a higher chance at advancing into day two.