WMHS Cheerleading ends successful 2019-20 season

The West Milford High School Varsity Cheerleading team recently finished a successful 2019-20 competition season.

The team consists of 18 members and is led by head coach, Krista Tripodi, who has been coaching the team for 12 years.

It started its season back in August, preparing for games and competitions, then ending its season on Feb. 29.

One of the highlights of the team's season was traveling to Ocean City, Maryland, for the Reach the Beach Cheerleading Nationals.

The team came in second place, losing first place by 2.2 points, and earned a season-high score of 94.55 points out of 100.

The team finished the season by competing in the New Jersey Cheerleading and Dance Championships at Brookdale Community College on Feb. 29.

At this competition, the team competed against some of the best teams in the state of New Jersey.

It came in fifth place out of 14 teams in a very competitive division.

At its final performance of the season, the team got zero deductions, meaning there were no deductions to stunts, tumbling, or safety violations.

This was the best finish at states in West Milford High School Cheerleading history.

In addition to these competitions, the team competed at local competitions every weekend in January and February.

Results from the other competitions include; first places in the Just Cheer Competition, the Wayne Valley Competition and David Brearley Competition.

It took second place at the Impact Cheer Competition, third place at the Hopatcong Cheer Competition, fourth place at the Cheer Army Competition and the Big North Conference Cheer Championship.

The team also went 5-3 in Big North Conference Cheer Tournament finishing in fourth place out of nine teams.

The following members received All Conference Honors; First Team All-Conference was Lauren Hand, Gabrielle Farias, Nikki Galella and Marissa DeLorenzo.

Honorable mention was awarded to Alyssa Heddy and Heather Leubling.

In addition, Varsity Cheer Coach, Krista Tripodi, is the 2020 Recipient of the Passaic County Coaches Association Honor Award for West Milford High School.

The team’s routine consists of various advanced cheerleading skills including a cheer, dance, jumps, tumbling, partner stunts, and pyramids.

The team practices five days a week from September until February in addition to being on the sidelines cheering on the football and basketball teams during its season.

The team made many improvements throughout the season and cheered all the way until the end.

In addition to succeeding on the mat, the team volunteered at local events and businesses throughout their season including at the Highlander Family Success Center, St. Joseph’s Food Pantry and the West Milford Special Olympics Basketball event.

The team would like to thank all those in the community who supported it throughout the season and helped to make it a successful.