North Rockland High School earned top honors at the 70th annual Westchester County Cheerleading Invitational, which was held at the County Center in White Plains. Several individual cheerleaders and coach Tanya Kelsch also earned individual accolades.
The 22-member squad won the Grand Championship with a series of flips, twists, spins and other gymnastic moves to conquer the competition. Cheerleading has been recognized as a sport, not an activity, in New York as of 2013.
North Rockland first had to win the large-school/team division on Wednesday, Jan. 23 before being pitted against some of the Hudson Valley’s best squads. The Red Raiders persevered against other division winners from Panas, Putnam Valley, Somers and Ursuline to become grand champions.
Kelsch, who took over the varsity team last year, was named the tournament’s Outstanding Coach, while junior Maya Johnson and Olivia Sullivan were awarded scholarships for their individual performances. Other scholarships were awarded to Horace Greeley's Brooke Bisceglia and New Rochelle student-athlete Edilys Encarnacion.
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