WEDNESDAY APRIL 1, 2009 Last modified: Wednesday, April 1, 2009 2:00 AM EDT
BY JIM HAND SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
ATTLEBORO
About five minutes after winning the national championship in Florida, members of the Attleboro High School cheerleading squad started receiving text messages from home congratulating them.
News travels fast when you're a winner.
And the Attleboro High School cheerleaders have been winning a lot, lately.
This year, they have gone undefeated, winning three invitational competitions, their league title, a regional crown, the state championship, and now the U.S. Spirit National Championship.
The team competed in the coed divisions, but also won the Grand Championships for having the highest scores of any team in any division, coach Natalie Ferraro said.
The seven seniors on the team said Tuesday that the national competition at Universal Studios in Florida was the most exciting of all because it was packed with about 4,000 spectators in an outdoor amphitheater and featured top squads from around the country.
"It's like a wild ride," said Team Captain Nick Mazurkiewicz. "It was intense."
"It's a different atmosphere than competing in Massachusetts," said Liz Girczyc, another captain.
The team performed its routine Saturday morning in the competition, and then again Sunday night.
Co-captain Adrienne Salisbury explained that the way the competition works, the team with the highest combined score from the two performances wins.
Attleboro was the last team on stage Sunday, and about 10:45 p.m. came the announcement it had won.
Some of the seniors said they feel the efforts of Attleboro cheerleaders have been overlooked in the past. They say they work as hard or harder than most sports teams.
"We practice three hours a day, six days a week for nine months," Chrissy Giroir said.
But, with the constant winning has come recognition.
"I think this year we have gotten a lot of recognition. Today in school, everyone was saying 'Good job. You did awesome,' " Tarheya Rogers said.
Co-captain Annie Jeffrey said the team has made the trip to the Florida competition several times before, and each year it has been an adventure with new experiences and new friends.
But, for the seniors, this was their last time together after four years of hard work.
"This year was incredible," Melissa Mungo said. "When it was over, I started crying because we won, but also because it was our last year."
