Sachem East, Sachem North Cheer Earn Bids to Nationals

Teams start season off strong with performances at UCA Empire Regionals.

The Sachem East and Sachem North cheer teams competed at the 2017 UCA Empire Regional Championship on Saturday at Nassau County Community College.

After their performances, both schools received bids to the National High School Cheerleading Championship held at Walt Disney World next year.

Competing in the Large Division, Sachem North took first place overall.

The last time Sachem North won the Large Division was 2009 when coaches Danielle Gresalfi and Jaclyn Tomasello competed for the Flaming Arrows.

“Going into this competition our goal was to hit the routine we’ve been working on over the past few weeks,” said Gresalfi. “I continuously told my girls to trust the process and focus on hitting. When it was time to compete the girls hit an amazing and energetic routine with zero deductions. This routine was probably one of the most difficult and creative Sachem North has put out in some years.”

Sachem East, competing in the Small Division, placed second.

“We have a very young team,” said Sachem East coach, Tylor Grimm, only four seniors, so we were very happy with their performance.”

Both teams will compete at the Section XI competitions next Saturday at Longwood. They will both compete every weekend until nationals in February.