Cheerleaders enjoy Disney in December

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Keera Frye in Sports // 0 Comments

Four Southmoreland varsity cheerleaders ventured to “The Happiest Place on Earth” as All-American Cheerleaders for the 2015 Varsity Spirit Spectacular for five days in early December.
Seniors Kylee Tkacs, Paige McLaughlin, Sara Hough, and Olivia Karinchak performed in a parade through Disney’s Magic Kingdom along with other dancers and cheerleaders chosen from Varsity Summer Camps.
“I was honored to get the opportunity to dance alongside my friends at Disney,” said Tkacs. “Especially since it’s our senior year.”
Over the summer, Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) hosted a camp for the SHS Varsity Cheer squad. At the end of the camp, the cheerleaders could tryout for All-American and the girls who made it were announced.
“I freaked out when Paige’s name was called after mine,” said Hough, “because I knew I would get to share this awesome experience with my best friend.”
As All-American Cheerleaders, the girls had the opportunity to perform in parades in Disney during Thanksgiving, London during New Year’s, or Disney in December. The 2015 Varsity Spirit Spectacular in December was exclusively offered to captains, co-captains, and officers of varsity teams across the nation.
“Making All-American and going on this trip was the perfect way to celebrate our last year of high school cheerleading,” said Karinchak.
None of the girls had ever been to Disney during the holidays before and were overjoyed to get to experience it for the first time together. McLaughlin described the whole experience as “fantastic” and an opportunity that she would “encourage younger cheerleaders to take advantage of.”
Parading through the Magic Kingdom gave the four SHS varsity cheerleaders memories that they will never forget as a part of their senior year.
“Walking in the parade was a great experience, but seeing all the little girls in the crowd looking up to us,” said McLaughlin. “That was something else.”