Like many of her teammates, senior cheerleading captain Paige Ernst has suffered her share of injuries over the years, including concussions, back problems, fractured ankles, and torn ligaments.
But placing third in nationals this year made it all worth it, Ernst said.
“Thinking back to all the tears, sore body parts, throwing up, getting criticised, and still showing up even when I was sick — it most certainly showed why that last performance was the highest placement in Baldwin cheer history,” Ernst said.
Ernst is proud that her team made it this far in her senior year.
“Really being a contender is indescribable and really something I’ll remember.” Ernst said.
The Baldwin competitive cheerleading mat team placed third in the nation at Disney in February, the highest-ever finish for any Baldwin cheer team.
Competitive cheerleading has two teams: game day and mat. Game day performs a routine similar to what fans see at a basketball game. Mat is more complex, with cheerleaders performing more flips and stunts. This year the game day team made it to semifinals.
Both teams had zero point deductions in their routines. In the mat competition, Baldwin was the only school in the division to achieve this.
Freshman Elianna Sinkule said Ernst inspired the girls by keeping their spirits up and encouraging them to do their best.
“She kept the team from feeling down and brought personality to the team,” Sinkule said.
Senior Erin Winkowski said she was thrilled with the results at nationals.
“As a senior, I’m so excited that my last year will have been our best year in competition ever,” Winkowski said. “Not only are we doing well in that area, but we’re also making a lot of memories together as a team. There’s a picture I have of us all in a pyramid, genuinely smiling and having a good time, and it’s my favorite picture of all of us.”
Although both teams did very well overall, there were struggles that they had to overcome. One of these challenges, Winkowski said, was the difference between the routine this year and routines from previous years.
“Low-to-high full arounds were added, which was a difficult move to overcome because it’s different than the routines that we’ve done in the past,” Winkowski said.
She also said the newest team members needed some more time during the season to adjust to the new routines.
“A lot of freshmen and sophomores joined for the first time, and they needed some time to build their confidence up,” Winkowski said.
The strong showing makes the team optimistic about their chances of doing well in future competitions.
“It feels really good because we’ve worked hard all year. It’s nice to get recognized,” Sinkule said.