Baldwin’s competitive cheer mat and game day teams both placed first over the weekend at the South Hills Showdown and were named overall grand champs.

The teams have been working on new stunts and skills and performed them well at the competition, junior Grace Iaquinta said. 

“We added something new to the pyramid and we hit it,” Iaquinta said. 

Having both teams finish in first and being named grand champion was special, senior Alana Beerman said.

“It feels rewarding to have the score we received and show how the hard work we put in has paid off,” Beerman said. “We scored first out of five other teams on our mat routine.”

Iaquinta said the game day team also was proud.

“I was super happy, but not shocked. Our game day routine this year is so good, especially with all the new signs and the new uniforms we got,” she said.

The team’s plan is to keep improving throughout the holiday breaks and come out strong in WPIALs and states in the new year.

“We have a lot of practice during Christmas break, so we’ll be really prepared because we still have to add stuff,” Iaquinta said.