On Jan. 28 the Niles North co-ed cheer team had one of their best performances of the year at Sectionals where they placed third and marvelously qualified for State. 

The team managed to post their highest score of the season at sectionals. On top of that, they exceeded the highest score in Niles North program history. 

On the morning of Feb. 1, Niles North cheer supporters gathered in the Main Gym for State Sendoff. During the sendoff, the cheer team performed their routine, were presented State shirts, and marched around the school with the drumline. 

Performing at State is very different from any other competition. It is hosted in an arena, the kind of arena that houses concerts. As you can imagine, that is a much different experience from performing in high school gymnasiums or fieldhouses. 

“I would describe it as a feeling,” Niles North Dean and co-cheer Head Coach Natalie Hoss said. “Anybody who is there for the first time gets to see how huge the sport is.”

25 teams compete in each of the four divisions. The co-ed division across the state was very competitive this season. Despite the difficult competition, the team remarkably took the 13th-place title this year. 

As of now, the comp season has officially ended. The IHSA calendar has come to a close as of this past weekend. The cheer season is not finished just yet, they will continue their sideline season for boys’ basketball. This Friday, Feb. 9, the team will be celebrating their one senior Amarina Amar for senior night. 

“And for the returning athletes, the grind starts now,” Hoss said, “If they all stick together and keep their vision and their focus and everything that we trained for this year, they could make a big wave into next competitive season.”

The cheer team has had an undeniably successful season and now looks forward to continuing training hard to come back even stronger next year.