for breaking news visit www.qns.com MARCH 10, 2016 • The CourieR SUN 43 sports Maspeth High School JV Girls Basketball team moves on to playoffs After winning their division and finishing the season with a 9-1 record, the Maspeth High School Junior Varsity Girls Basketball team has reached the second round of playoffs. Against the odds, the P.S. 71 cheer team won first place in international tournament By ANTHO NY GIU DICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport The P.S. 71 Owls cheer team flew down to the “Sunshine State” last month and came back home with a first place trophy in the AmeriCheer and AmeriDance Internationals tournament. The team, made up of 22 fourth- and fifth-graders — 19 attended the competition — left for Florida on Feb. 26 and stayed at a Disney resort during the tournament. At the competition, the girls had 5 minutes to warm up before their 2 minute, 30 second routine. “It was pretty intense for the kids,” said Allison Napoli, assistant principal at P.S. 71 and cheer team coach. “They had to stay focused. I gave the team a pep talk before they went out because some of them were really nervous.” When it was all said and done, the Owls ended with a score of 75.50 percent, taking first place in the Youth Rec Mount Traditional division. The victory was extremely impressive because P.S. 71 does not have a gym, principal Indiana Soto said. “Our school doesn’t have a gym,” Soto said. “They have to practice in the cafeteria or auditorium. Part of their conditioning is to take out and put away the mats. They are forced to improvise, which is a big plus in competition. Without having adequate space to practice, they are still held to the same standards as teams internationally.” Competitions such as these are now opening doors for cheer teams since cheerleading was made an official sport. “As of January 2015 cheerleading was made an official sport,” Soto said. “Cheerleaders can now get high school and college scholarships, just like any other sport.” With this victory, the Owls have qualified for the U.S. finals, which take place on May 7, in Virginia Beach. The school is now looking for donations from the community to help send the team to compete there. They need around $6,000 to get down to Virginia Beach. “We’re going to win in Virginia Beach, too,” Soto said.
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