Port Chester cheerleaders make it into the National finals

February 21, 2024 at 11:42 p.m.
The Port Chester High School varsity cheerleaders pose with their coaches at the United Cheerleading Association National High School Cheerleading Championship at Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
The Port Chester High School varsity cheerleaders pose with their coaches at the United Cheerleading Association National High School Cheerleading Championship at Disney World in Orlando, Fla. (Courtesy photo of Janice Mollica)

By MICHAEL IACHETTA | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment
Freelance Reporter

Cheers! Lots of them. Loud and clear. Because they have to hear them. Because they are the Port Chester team nobody cheers for. Until now. And they deserve it.

Because in a local winter scholastic sports season where there hasn't been much to cheer about except that it's almost over, Port Chester's cheerleaders went a long way to give Ram Nation something to cheer about—all the way to Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

And it turned out to be well worth the trip.

Because for the first time in school history, the varsity high school cheerleaders made it into the finals of a national cheerleading competition in a division they had never competed in before.

And they had to win local and regional competitions just to get there.

'Most Magical Place'

For more than 40 years, the United Cheerleading Association (UCA) National High School Cheerleading Championship (NHSCC) has been the culmination of the season for cheerleaders across the nation.

It is billed as the most prestigious high school national championship in the country and the perfect opportunity for cheerleading teams to get together and celebrate each other at "the Most Magical Place on Earth, the Walt Disney World Resort" in Orlando, Fla.

And it was quite magical because the teams spill out of a scenic backdrop that includes a Disney castle onto mats spread out across various competitive venues in the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Just being part of that kind of competition helps build confidence, composure, self-reliance, goal setting, ability to handle pressure and the bonding that comes from being part of a highly-honed, toned and synchronized team built to win.

Eye on the prize

So Port Chester went to Disney looking to accomplish a lot more than just visit Space Mountain, roam EPCOT, hang out at the All-Star Resort where they stayed, pose with Minnie or Mickey Mouse or listen to schmaltzy renditions of "It's a Small, Small World."

They went to win. And they went to represent their school, their team, their community, their town, their village, themselves.

And they did them all proud.

Coaching understatement

"Nationals was quite eventful," Port Chester's head cheerleading coach John Gonzalez said after the event in something of an understatement. "For the first time in Port Chester High School history we advanced to finals in a division we've never competed in, Varsity Coed Non Tumble Game Day, finishing 12th in the nation. And 12th may not be great for some, but for a rebuilding program which I took over two years ago...it is an amazing feat. We should also remember not many teams made it past the regional competition where invitations to Nationals were given and many teams didn't make it past semi-finals at Nationals, but Port Chester Varsity definitely did!"

And they did it with a style, flair and panache that comes from hours of practice developing the skills, twists and turns that helped them win local and regional competitions that enabled them to qualify for the Nationals Feb. 9-12.

They did it with the Ram pride that comes from being part of a championship-caliber program made up of 21 varsity student-athletes (including three males) with 15 performers on the Junior Varsity and 28 on the Mod Squad.

Raised at least 2Gs

They did it with the determination that comes from having to raise $2,100 to send each competing member of the team to Disney with all kinds of fundraisers, including car washes, candy sales and raffles. They partnered with a local restaurant. Hosted a winter cheerleading competition and co-hosted a Fall Cheerleading Competition with Section One as well as a Cheerleading Competition for multiple schools at the high school and a National Send Off featuring all the district’s cheerleading teams strutting their stuff on Feb. 3 and 5 respectively.

In brief, it took a village to get them to Disney. And more. Because they had to get ready to compete there in the new Varsity Coed Non-Tumble Division II Game Day division and Varsity Coed Non-Tumble Division II Traditional. Those divisions are for schools with less than 1,200 students that do not have tumbling in their routines and have a minimum of one male. And they had to sweep the UCA Regional Competition to qualify for the Nationals.

Step by step turnaround

One step at a time, one lift, twirl, swirl, cartwheel, tumble, pyramid balancing act at a time, one grueling weight room lifting session at a time, and one rah rah, hurrah, hip hip hooray chant at a time, Gonzalez—who has danced in "The Lion King" and pranced as a cheerleader for the pro basketball Knicks at Madison Square Garden and the Nets at the Barclay Center—built a varsity team revolving around a Broadway-style cast of characters right out of Port Chester's melting pot.

That team features a varsity roster including Johnny Borzoni (a triple threat Rams football, baseball and ice hockey player), Amy Navas, Kelly Pascale, Elizabeth Magana, Mia Pagnotta, Madison Mollica, Myisha Cruz, Natalie Ceruzzi, Kate Richardson, Fiona Lovallo, Charlotte Burke, Melina Morban, Christian Flores, Valeryn Deras, Angel Esquival, Mayelin Gonzalez, Allison Recinos, Allegra Burke, Olivia Tejada, Mariana Gomez and Adrian Osorio.

The coaching carousel

It was like a coaching carousel with Gonzalez the circus master in the middle of the ring who kept it all going round and round.

That diverse group developed into a smoothly choreographed unit that rivals Port Chester's famed, nationally-ranked marching band.

And that explains how Port Chester climbed in the national rankings all the way up into becoming one of the top dozen cheerleading teams in the country.

And that's why Westmore News is giving a shout out to celebrate what the cheerleaders accomplished in the NCA Championships at Disney World in Orlando. Because what they accomplished is worth cheering about.


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