It's been quite a long time since Sapphire and Shannon weren't on a roster, but at least we had their help for a successful tryout.  Everyone worked hard this week and it showed through your scores...especially for those of you who also work hard on your grades!  The varsity team for 2009-2010 will be:

Torri F.
Kasie M.
Cori W.
Nicole F.
Jenna B.
Shelby J.
Marissa S.
Kayla S.
Katie G.
Jarika F.
Cassie L.
Alexa C.
Hannah S.
Alternate-Amanda I.
Alternate-Ariel W.
Alternate-Franny B.

     Congratulations ladies!  We have a lot of work to do--but we'll have fun getting there! 

     Don't forget the kick-off party/meeting for the new team and new cheer moms/dads at Mrs. Nephew's house on Monday, June 15th, at 4:30 PM.  Please bring something to share and ideas for fundraisers.  Remember, alternates are part of the team and should also be attending!!

     The 2009 Athletic Awards Banquet was held on June 11, 2009.  Once again, it was a long night, but one filled with plenty of positive recognition for all of Moriah's athletes and coaches. 

     Our Most Improved award went to Cori White, a well-deserved honor for all of her hard work!  She has truly come a long way.

     The MVP was Lauren Boyle in recognition of her talent and dedication this season.  She took advantage of every opportunity and participated in every team event, all the while challenging herself to use her potential.  We were able to compete on a different level with her talents on the floor.  Best wishes in the future, don't forget what great things come when you follow through!

     Mrs. Nephew also recognized three individuals who have meant a great deal to our program over the last six years.  Without them, our program would likely have been in ruin.  Their tireless support and dedication has meant a lot.  Without question they have supported the girls of our program, whether veterans or rookies.  Too often these girls had to start over, teaching new girls, but never questioning and always knowing what needed to be done to keep our team on top.  Hours of rolling hair, often on girls who weren't her own, driving, playing our music, sleepovers...she has always gone above and beyond the role of a cheer mom.  They have been there through it all, good and bad, and we will miss them all so much next year.  We cannot thank you enough--Sapphire Wintle, Shannon Hanson and Wendy Wintle.

     Last, but not least, was the Moriah Cheer Scholarship.  Supported through donations from our alumni, we were able to award a $500.00 scholarship this year.  Chosen by her teammates for all of her time and dedication, the scholarship was deservedly given to Shannon Hanson.

      Congrats to all, and thanks to Sapphire, Shannon, Jenna and Cori for attending and representing our team!

     With tons of talent this season, Moriah's Varsity Cheerleading team rocked all their competitions, adding difficulty every step of the way.  While each stop held a disappointing surprise, their performances were show-stopping.  The girls worked hard to put on a great show, but their "numbers" don't tell the whole story. 

     An amazing "bare bones" routine started off the season in Glens Falls, a stellar performance after only about a week of full run-throughs under their belts.  While they looked on proudly as our JV took 3rd, a scoring mistake left Moriah out of the top spots.

     Moving on, the girls cleaned up their motions and dances, modified their stunts to fit CVAC's limited rules and headed to Beekmantown.  Usually just a show because of the unbalanced set-up, the girls performed an excellent (if watered-down) version of our routine--which almost never was, as we were close to losing Jenna just minutes before because of a serious ankle sprain during the introduction cheer.  As we always win when it comes to being stubborn, the girls pulled through with a great performance, and earned the 3rd place honors--something that hasn't been done in quite a few years!

     The New York State competition was up next and we knew we wanted to do more.  The girls pushed themselves to up the difficulty, even adding in full downs from their one-legged stunts.  Everyone also pulled double-duty working on their own stunt group routines, which went off quite well considering full run-throughs didn't quite happen until the day of competition!  Our cleanest performance to date, we were looking good until a disappointing discovery that we had been doing something a little wrong since camp...resulting in some points lost...but the girls came away with 3rd place in Class D all the same.

     A little sad that it would be our last, but excited too, we traveled  next to Potsdam, our favorite season-ender.  Our season of near-misses and little disappointments didn't end here, however.  Our brave JV ladies were the only girls bold enough to compete in the freshman division of the individual competition, with Jarika taking 3rd place, Katie taking 2nd, and Nicole winning 1st place.  Cassie was also amazing getting up there all by herself--what a cutie!!  In the Varsity division, Hannah rocked and made her family teary-eyed, while Shelby placed 2nd--by 1 point!  Lauren was one of two seniors competing, and she tied for 1st place--though we thought she should have won it all, of course!  Our two stunt groups performed again, much more confident and clean this time.  Though they came very close (a half point?), they couldn't quite stop the Franklin Academy juggernaut that swept the stunt group competition.  Our JV did an excellent job during their team competition, performing much better, with better voices and a great 180-retake to full extension ending--go ladies!!  They took home the first place JV trophy.  Hoping to end our string of bad luck, perhaps our nerves got the better of us and there was one fall in the Varsity team performance, and a silly deduction for touching a pom that wouldn't have happened had it not been the end of the routine.  A disappointing third place was our fate, despite our obvious talent, degree of difficulty and otherwise solid performance.  Moriah was well represented in the fun stuff too, with Lauren, Shelby and Katie taking part in the jump off...and Lauren coming away with some prizes for the jump off and the tumble off!  We won the extension contest again as well--of course!--with the team of Shannon, Kasie, Jordan and Sapphire...we had to do it one more time!

     Though it may sound biased, we were not a third place team.  Our season will not be remembered for the places we took, but it will be looked upon as one of the cleanest and most difficult routines we've ever had.  We will certainly miss our seniors, Sapphire, Shannon, Lauren and Jordan.  Hopefully they will be back to help us out next year as we rebuild the Moriah tradition once again--this time on some very capable shoulders with some promising newcomers in the mix!!

 TRYOUTS ARE NOT FAR AWAY!!!!  ;)