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Agoura's cheer squad wins first in state, 13th in nation
The team's athleticism landed them first place in California and 13th in the nation at the United Cheer Association's National High School Cheerleading Championship, announced coaches Eileen McGrew and Matt Goldberg. "It was a very cool experience this weekend," said senior Taryn Rasgon, co-captain of the team with Genna Bryant and Kayla Milgrin. Rasgon said the cheer squad at Agoura High is not the "rah, rah" brand of team. "It's intense," she said of the practice regimen and performance commitment to the teams at the school. The girls perform full tumbling routines, pyramids and stunts, including throwing "fliers" into the air who twist and turn, straight-backed and backwards, according to Lisa Karlan, Rasgon's mother. In addition to practicing rigorous routines almost daily for two to three hours, the team performs up to 25 hours per week at football and basketball games, Rasgon said. The national competition was held at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 10. Rasgon rattled off dizzying statistics: Twentyseven hundred teams competed in the semifinals to qualify for the national competition in Florida. Of the 400 teams that made it, just 22 landed in the finals. Although the Agoura High team ranked second for the regional competition after placing 13th out of the final 22 teams, they recaptured the first-place California title. "Agoura High School is unique because two girls hold up one flier rather than three," Rasgon said. Karlan said while the team makes the extreme moves look simple, they are actually very complicated and timed perfectly. She said team member Sarah Schur completes a back flip and full twist in the air. "She is rotating at the same time while going into a 350-degree pirouette in the air," Karlan said. Milgrin said of her team's success, "It was amazing." Milgrin is also a "flier" and said the sensation of being thrown into the air is "really exciting." The team works so well together because everybody on the team has honed her specialty, she said. As for safety, Milgrin has fallen before while being thrown but not recently. "If we each do our part no one will get hurt," she said. Bryant, too, agreed with her teammates that winning such a high national rank was "amazing, unexplainable." "We did the best we could and had so much fun," Bryant said. "The final routine was perfect," Karlan said. She explained that last year the Agoura cheer team was the first-ever CIF (California Interscholatic Federation) champion. They also came in first in "crowdleading" and second in cheer in 2007. Apparently, Agoura's team has "crowdleading" down pat since it was the sixth time the team had won first place in that category. "I've watched these girls grow, mature and learn how to really work together as a team," Karlan said. "When they build stunts, the flier's life is literally in the hands of those holding her up, with outstretched arms, fully extended above their heads." Karlan said competitive cheerleading is a difficult sport, but the benefits that come from winning championships are just rewards for their hard work and dedication. "These are the skills that will easily translate as they take on new challenges in their future lives," she said. She commended the dedication and commitment of coaches McGrew and Goldberg and team adviser, Vicki Koch. "Ms. McGrew has demanded nothing less than excellence from her team, and she has responded in kind. She is able to create complex choreography maximizing the skills of each girl while minimizing any weaknesses that come from injuries or not-yet-perfected gymnastic skills," Karlan said. Agoura High's winning routines will be showcased on ESPN on March 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. |
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