MYRTLE BEACH — Competing for the first time in the spring of 2022, the Newberry College cheerleading team picked up a second-place finish in the Small Coed College – Intermediate division at the 2022 CANAM Myrtle Beach Grand Nationals.
“Being a senior on the team makes every moment just a little more bittersweet,” said senior Mayia Williams about the competition. “Stepping onto the mat at our first competition of the season, was one step closer to my last time being a Newberry College competitive cheerleader. The feeling was breathtaking. I have never felt more as one unit, than I did while our team conquered the mat together. I am truly grateful to feel at home when I am with my teammates.”
The Wolves were able to turn in a raw score of 73.37, but unfortunately were dinged with 2.25 points of deductions that brought their final score to a 71.12. Indian Hills Community College took the win in their division with a final score of 73.3 while the University of Mount Olive finish in third.
“I felt very good going into the competition, but also nervous,” said Assistant Coach Cole Mars “Our team executed like they know how to. We had a couple of flaws, but that’s just the sport. Things go wrong. I am proud of our athletes, they came to win and even though we ended with second place, they felt good and optimistic for nationals.”
Newberry’s best technical score of the competition came in the jumps category as they were able to secure a 5.00 in the difficulty portion of the score and the round that out with a 4.40 in the execution portion for an overall 9.40 score. They also posted marks of 9.50 in collegiate image, 9.60 in choreography and a 9.37 in overall effect.
“I felt like I had a lot of energy and nerves for competition,” said junior Reginald Wright. “The moment the music came on it all felt like muscle memory. The outcome of the performance was not so bad, and I didn’t feel defeated because I know what my team and I are capable of.”
Some of the judge’s comments from the performance included, “great opening energy,” which was highlighted by senior Myasia Byrd debuting a new coed skill, as well as noticing the way the Wolves used the mat to create visuals throughout their performance. In addition, Williams was able to debut her round off tuck in the competition after working on it all year. The judges also gave the team major props on their high energy dance portion of their performance that they called, “great fun to watch.”
“I’m very proud of what we have put on the mat this year,” said Head Coach Justina Teale. “We have had a hard year with injuries on our competition team and they have pushed through every single time we have had to make adjustments. Our routine is jam packed and though we had a few minor mistakes we are so excited to get back on the mat at Limestone and Daytona.”
The Wolves next competition is slated for April 2, as they travel to Limestone University to take part in the Clash of the Conferences as their final tune-up before NCA Collegiate Nationals the following week.