The Niles North cheerleading team had a nervy start to their season but quickly bounced back in order to fulfill their goals of qualifying for State this year. 

The team had a meet at Glenbrook North on Thursday, Jan. 12, which unfortunately did not go to plan.

 “Before performing, there was a lot of excitement and energy from my teammates,” Captain junior Amarina Amar said. “We were all very eager to show the crowd what we can do and bring to the table, but unfortunately it didn’t go as planned and wasn’t one of our best performances.” 

Although they had a rough start, the team quickly bounced back and found good form, having one of their best performances to date. “We learned from our mistakes and reflected on the events that had happened, and came back stronger for our following competition later that week,” Captain junior Amarina Amar said. “We proved that we were better than that and had one of our best performances that day”.

The team looked to qualify for state this year and to get their routine to a point where that is possible. 

“What we are currently focused on is qualifying for state,” Sophomore Alex Valenzuela said. “We are currently working on cleaning up our routine and adding the finishing touches to ensure we make it out of our sectional.”

The team found its form late in the season, but in their eyes, it’s better late than never. They constantly look to improve themselves and show what they can do. 

“As our season comes to a close, I would say that our team’s main goal is the betterment of our routine,” Valenzuela said. “Although we do have more tangible goals, such as placing top five in our upcoming sectional to qualify for state, the mindset of continuous improvement is what really defines this sport.”

Although the start to the 22/23 cheer season wasn’t ideal, the Vikings squad never gave up hope. They worked harder than ever before to achieve their goals. 

This work paid off on Saturday, Jan. 28, as they competed at Buffalo Grove in their sectional.

The team came out of the sectional as state qualifiers, a feat that achieved many of the team members’ goals this season. However, the team is not done yet. 

Having qualified for state, the team will compete at the IHSA state championships held in Bloomington on Friday, Feb. 3 around 5 pm. Additionally, the team held a state sendoff on Thursday, Feb. 2 in the main gym, where they performed their planned routine in front of a crowd. They then proceeded around the school behind the band program’s marching band of drummers.

The cheer team asks for all the support they can get while competing for the IHSA State Championship.