Congratulations to the Laney High School varsity cheerleaders
WILMINGTON, N.C. — On January 20, 2024, the Laney High School Varsity Cheerleaders won the North Carolina Cheer Coaches Association D1 Large Varsity Non-Tumble State Championship. The squad consists of 19 young ladies ranging from 9th grade through 12th grade. For most of these girls, it was their first time competing at the high school level. Three young ladies on the team competed in 2021 for the Laney Cheer program, where they finished 2nd in the Coastal Region competition and 5th in the NCHSAA Cheer Invitational. It has taken several years for this program to return to the competition floor.
This year, the Laney Cheer Program is under new leadership. Nikki Little, Jamie Green, and Sara Zuccalmaglio took over the program with high expectations and wanted to put the program back on the blue mats. The team was chosen in May 2023 and began practicing right away. The girls worked all summer long learning a routine choreographed by Sara Zuccalmaglio. While preparing for competition, they cheered their football team on to the third round of playoffs.
In November 2023, the varsity squad placed first at the Coastal Regionals in the D1 Medium Varsity Non-Tumble division. Then, they spent two months with a limited practice area, updating their routine to include new stunts and a new dance to help increase the difficulty of the routine. They took that routine and won the state championship in January while cheering on the Laney basketball teams.
This squad is a special group. They worked hard to get better and surpass their goals. This squad is the first cheer state champion team in Laney’s history. They represented their school with dignity and pride. The team also had two juniors make the NCCCA All-Region team for the first time in school history. These young ladies, Juliana Grace Adkins and Kyra Wood, have the opportunity to try out for the NCCCA All-State team in April with a chance to represent Laney High School at the NCHSAA All-Star games this summer. Coach Nikki Little says she still gets chill bumps thinking about the team’s reaction when they were announced as state champions. “It’s a GREAT day to be a Buc!!!”
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