Titles for Park Vista, West Broward, Jupiter
Park Vista won the 2A state Medium Division-Co-Ed title
It was a banner weekend for South Florida high school cheerleading squads in Gainesville.
Jupiter, West Broward and Park Vista all captured FHSAA Class 2A state competitive cheerleading championships at the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville.
For Park Vista, it was their first state cheerleading championship in school history. West Broward won its first title in seven years, while Jupiter won for the second time in three years and finally topped rival Winter Park in the process.
It is Park Vista’s third state title in school history joining girls bowling (2012) and girls softball (2019). They needed to advance from the semifinals and claimed the lone spot available in the finals. They captured the Medium Division-Co-Ed title with 76.20 points.
“I knew from the very first practice this year that we had a chance to do this,” said Cobras coach Ashley Urso, whose team finished seventh in the state last year. “They were the most talented team I have ever worked with.”
Park Vista senior captain Mandy Dolinger said the team was able to survive some twists and turns during the season thanks to the coaches.
“This is the best experience of my life,” Dolinger said. “We made history.”
Jupiter won the Class 2A medium varsity title with 88.90 points to edge rival Winter Park (86.40). Jupiter had finished second to Winter Park in 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, and in 2008. In 2018 when Jupiter won, Winter Park was in a different division. Jupiter senior Eliana Ceglio said the team’s dedication and sisterhood won out.
“This was so-so big,” Ceglio said. “It is an amazing feeling. You can’t compare it to anything.”
Veteran Jupiter coach Kimberley Beine said she’s coached many years (17) and not one moment during that span felt like this.
“It was the best feeling because this is a team [Winter Park] we have been chasing for many years,” Beine said. “We gradually have been getting closer and to finally conquer that goal … I am still trying to process everything.”
West Broward won the Class 2A state large non-tumbling with 78.50 points as Danielle Culbertson won a state championship as a coach after winning the last one as a cheerleader seven years ago. She cheered for the Bobcats from 2010-2013. This is her fourth year as coach of the team.
“It was great to come back as a coach and bring back the legacy,” Culbertson said. “Receiving a ring as a coach is a way different feeling than receiving one as an athlete. I feel it is way more memorable and meaningful.
“The last two years we had finished second, so we felt there was a curse on West Broward,” she laughed. “Our team turned into a family and we had zero deductions this year.”
West Broward senior Pablo Soto, the first male cheerleader in school history, said it was a little nerve-wracking cheering for his first year and having one chance to win a state title.
“Luckily, my first one was my best one,” Soto said. “I was placed in a class with a cheer liaison and she asked me to try the sport. I did and I loved it. It was hard to overcome the stigma against male cheerleaders and that it is an allfemale sport, but eventually, I was able to show my school that males can do it too.”
Three-time defending state champion Coral Glades finished runner-up by the slimmest of margins losing the state title by twotenths of a point. Lakeland won the title with 78.70 points, just ahead of the Jaguars with 78.50.
“It is actually crazy,” said Jaguars coach Alison Madej. “They had their best performance of the season and we cannot be more proud of them. They were phenomenal. They had a zero deduction routine. To lose by two-tenths of a point, that’s just wild.
“The girls were very confused,” she added, “but judging is subjective and at the end of the day sometimes you do your best and you don’t get what you want, but it is how you handle yourself and move on.”
Palm Beach Central placed second in the Class 2A large nontumbling division with 71.90 points. Western placed second in the extra-large varsity division with 77.40 points.
In other 2A divisions, Miramar (80.10) and Boca Raton (78.40) placed second and third respectively in the small non-tumbling division. Coral Springs (75.90), Wellington (74.70) and Dillard (74.50) were third, fourth and fifth in the medium non-tumbling division.
In other 1A results, Stranahan was second in the extra-large division-non-tumbling finals with 74.10 points. The King’s Academy placed third in the large divisionnon-tumbling finals with 81.10.