On Feb. 11-12 the Cerritos College Cheer Squad won third place in the United Spirit Association’s 2007 Collegiate National in Las Vegas.

The two squads that competed were cheerleading and hip-hop, where both competed against six teams to qualify for the National Finals.

The squad had to display school spirit as well as athleticism for a two minute and thirty second performance.

During Day 1 of the competition the Cheerleading squad competition against the following schools:

? Ventura College? Eastern College? Salt Lake City College ? Glendale College? Southwestern College

In that same day the Hip-Hop Squad competed against the following schools:

? Orange Coast College? College of the Desert? Walla Walla Community ? Salt Lake City College

Of that three college advance to the finals from the cheerleading squad and were:

? Southwestern? Glendale? Cerritos College

And in the Hip-Hop final competition:

? Walla Walla Community ? Orange Coast College? Cerritos College

Following the third place win, Cheer Coach and adviser James Austin commented being proud for the squad and to have competed and come out with its win the 13 members should be proud.

“I was very excited for all of them,” he said.

However, Co-captains Lindsay Cox, liberal arts major and Lydia Chavez, nursing major, both agreed that the win was more than just exciting.

“There was dedication (from the squad) in the two weeks prior to the competition,” Chavez said, “and it paid off.”

Both Cox and Chavez said that after hearing the name of the school itself, other students from those who were at the finals were asking about Cerritos.

“People would say, ‘Where is Cerritos College?’ Cox said, “and that, to a lot of us, meant that we did something great.”

There is something else that Cox and Chavez said was important to know about cheerleading itself and that is that it is more than just short skirts and pom-poms.

“Cheerleading is now considered a sport,” Cox said, “but there is also the risk of injury and hard work.”

She, along with Chavez, has been cheerleading for seven years and both agreed that the reason for being involved in it is for the competition.

At the beginning of trying out for the 2006-07 squad, Chavez stated that there were 40 students and that number now stands at 13. Six of them are men.

The men on the squad could not be reached for comment.

“After people realize the amount of work, they just quit,” Chavez said.

But Cox said that although she will not be at Cerritos to see next year’s squad, the sport of cheerleading will continue to grow and knowing that the team won third place will only enhance its popularity.

Tryouts for the 2007-08 cheer squad will be held during the third week of May.