WJ varsity cheer took 6th place at the division 1 county competition at Montgomery Blair High School on Saturday, October 28 . In addition to 6th place, WJ also took home the spirit award, a measure of the spirit of the crowd. A sophomore heavy team, WJ performed well in their second test of division 1 competition.

Senior class President Jake Steinberg was especially pleased with the effort.

“From what I just saw that was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Based on their routine, cheer is now one of my favorite sports. They’re just incredible,” Steinberg said.

In the face of extremely tough competition such as Damascus, Wootton and Quince Orchard, WJ dazzled the audience with amazing Liberties (holding someone in the air) and fantastic gymnastic-like moves. A major contributor to the effort, senior captain Haley Karp, was pleased with her final performance.

“Our performance was by far the best one out of all my 4 years on varsity. I loved the energy and confidence that my teammates had going into the competition as well,” Karp said.

While the performance was special, Steinberg appreciated the team cheering everyone on no matter what.

“My favorite part of WJ cheer is that they are always so positive and spirited at every game and they just hype everyone up all the time,” Steinberg said.

WJ’s county competition finish is just a start. WJ’s young roster looks to improve on their standing and become a county powerhouse.

“I know they had a good bunch of seniors this year. But we’re WJ so we are always awesome,” Steinberg said.