The Feather Online apologizes for the late publication of this article. Cheer coach Katie Mendenhall’s recent resignation, in addition to similar conflicts, made it difficult for the reporter to interview her and gather information.
The cheer super squad aced five out of five competitions as first place or grand champions at each event. However, for the conclusion of their season at the United Spirit Association (USA) High School Spirit Nationals in Anaheim, the cheerleaders placed ninth out of 20 due to an illegal stunt in the initial round of the competition, March 28.
When the announcer named the FC squad’s placement, cheer coach Katie Mendenhall said she was speechless. She was confident that the team performed in the top five to continue to the final round.
“I thought they did a great job,” Mendenhall said. “They had a couple timing issues, but overall they did what needed to be done ? a clean routine with no falls. Only four out of the 20 teams actually hit a clean routine with no stunts falling, and we were one of them.”
Because of the lower-than-expected result, Mendenhall stayed at the Anaheim Convention Center, where the competition took place, to talk to USA staff and judges.
“They told me that we had an illegal stunt,” Mendenhall said. “I just told them that we had performed the routine two times in front of USA judges and nothing was said about the stunt. He said, ‘Sorry, it was human error.'”
The news shocked many members of the squad, including seniors who sought to continue their winning streak during their last year of high school.
“We hit an almost perfect routine, so we all felt pretty confident about winning,” senior Danielle Ricchiuti, four-year cheerleader, said. “We all thought that we deserved to at least be entered into finals.”
Although the judges isolated the illegal stunt in the squad’s routine, they also said that “they loved the creativity and strong stunts,” according to Mendenhall.
“Sometimes when you are the best and you are able to push the envelope by doing harder stunts, the risk is something like this,” Mendenall said. “It can happen. We did not lose nationals ? we placed. Losing is coming in last. We were not last.”
Mendenhall resigns from cheer position
After nationals, the squad held a cheer awards night, March 30, where Mendenhall announced her resignation as head cheer coach on campus. She said she wished for more time with her family and, on April 21, accepted a job at Buchanan High School as head varsity competition cheer coach, declining multiple offers at other schools.
When asked if she wanted to say something to the cheerleaders ? many of whom she has coached for several years ? she said: “The Lord is in control.
“He loves us, and everything happens for a reason. With this job I get to be with my family more.”
For more information on the cheer season, read the March 9 article, Super squad wins FCC West Coast Championship.
