After receiving the title of UCBAC Champions, Varsity Cheerleading moved on to Regionals on Saturday, Nov. 8. The competition was held at North Point High School near Waldorf.

Last year, Varsity received 4^th at Counties which prevented them from moving on to Regionals. This year, they made it and ended up hitting a perfect routine with no deductions from their score. They had spent the week leading up to Regionals “spicing things up” in their routine and adding more difficulty, which definitely paid off.

“We fought hard every practice and worked hard to hit that perfect routine, and we definitely accomplished that,” said Senior Julia Becker.

Going into the competition, the team saw their biggest competition as Harford Tech, Eastern Tech (Baltimore County) and Westminster (Carroll County)—all teams that usually place pretty well at Regionals and States. Also at Regionals were North Harford from Harford County, Hereford, Perry Hall, Landsdowne, Patapsco and Kenwood from Baltimore County, Tuscarora and Linganore from Frederick County, Rising Sun and North East from Cecil County, and Liberty and Francis Scott Key from Carroll County. Some teams had never been to Regionals before and it was the first time Bel Air competed against them.

“It was exciting but it made me nervous at the same time because I didn’t know how good they really were,” said Junior Maddy Alascio.

But Bel Air pushed their nerves aside and performed one of the best routines they’ve ever done. Bobcat Nation went wild—the crowd filled with classmates, family, friends, boyfriends, and even some alumni. Their scores also showed their success—they received 10 (the highest score possible) for both partner stunt difficulty and tumbling difficulty.

“It feels great to know that we deserve the scores we received. We have worked so hard at practice, specifically on partner stunts and tumbling, so to receive a 10 out of 10 in both of those categories was so rewarding. Ultimately your score is left in the hands of the judges, so to receive scores as high as we did is very exciting because it shows that the judges shared the same enthusiasm towards the routine that we do,” said Junior Sarah Fleischmann.

The team ended up placing 2^nd with a final score of 125.2 out of a possible 130, beating who they saw as their biggest competitors (Eastern Tech- 3^rd, Westminster- 4^th, and Harford Tech- 5^th). Linganore placed 1^st with a score of 125.85. It was crushing to the team to come so close to becoming Regional champions, but they have all agreed they want to work harder than ever. With States right around the corner, they want to increase their score and give a performance the State judges won’t forget.

“We are going to step it up in practice and work as hard as we can. We will need to stay focused and work as team and if we do our best we will no doubt be successful,” said Senior Megan Surasky.

Bel Air has a very large chance at winning States, as long as they hit a perfect routine. Come watch history be made at HCC’s APGFCU Arena on Wednesday, November 12. The competition starts at 6:30pm and admission is $10. Bobcat Nation- we need YOU to pack the stands!