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Sports

Fort Lee Cheerleaders Win Another National Championship

A school record 18 Lady Bridgemen are named to All-America Team.

For the third time in history, the Fort Lee High School cheerleaders are national champions.

After wins in 2006 and 2007, the Lady Bridgemen were searching for their third title at the Eastern Cheer Association Championships in Williamsburg, Va., but continued to finish in the runner-up positions.  

That was not the case on Saturday night, however, when Fort Lee defeated 13 other teams in the evening session to claim the 2011 national championship in the non-tumbling division.

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“This was our three peat,” said Fort Lee’s coach, Nina Anderson. “If [the girls] don’t work together as a team, that doesn’t win a championship.”

Along with the honor of winning that many titles, the Lady Bridgemen also received the highest score in the non-tumbling, tumble and All-Star divisions combined.

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And if that weren’t enough, all 18 Fort Lee Cheerleaders were named to the All-America Team, a first in school history.

“These girls truly pulled together and where one shortcoming was, someone else picked up their slack,” said their proud coach. “All of their jumps were in sync. All of their cradles, their catches, everything…they worked together to do that.”

Remarkably, this is also a team that only had one full practice together due to injuries and unexpected turns before leaving New Jersey on Friday.

“Thursday was the first time that we had practiced as a whole team in over a month,” Anderson said. “Everybody played well together. This was a great performance…it was awesome.”

After performing their last routine, the Lady Bridgemen went backstage and waited for their coaches to join them. Instead of going to get water, which is the usual routine, the team immediately pounced on coach Anderson and coach Nikki Luppino.

“They just jumped all over us, hugged us, and we were all crying,” Anderson said.  “It was a great feeling.”

As the nine o’clock awards ceremony concluded, the newly-crowned National Champions celebrated in a way that not many have ever done before.  After taking pictures with the trophy and leaving the arena, the Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen celebrated at an Italian Ice shop and continued the party on Sunday with their very own Talent Show.

“That’s just a fun way to end our trip,” coach Anderson said. “We dare to be different.”

Just as Fort Lee did in 2007, the Lady Bridgemen hope to repeat as national champions again next year and may be doing it with many of the same girls. The team only had two seniors this season, including Elizabeth Pavlov, who led the team on the mat, as well as fellow senior captain Nadine Jun, who was injured earlier in the year and “leading from the sideline” on Saturday.

Nine juniors and more underclassmen are expected to return again next year for a possible fourth school title. Fort Lee may also be competing on a bigger stage next year in Daytona Beach, Fla. at the National Cheerleading Championships pending Board of Education approval.

For now, the girls will at least have something interesting to say Tuesday in school when someone asks how their weekend was.

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