The University of Southern Mississippi cheerleading team earned two eighth-place finishes at the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) competition held in Orlando, Florida. The team competed in both the Game Day and traditional divisions, securing national recognition in each.
In the Game Day division, USM cheerleaders performed the school's fight song, a crowd cheer, and a timeout routine, earning a spot in the finals and placing eighth in the nation. The team also competed in the traditional division, achieving another finals placement and a second eighth-place finish.
“The kids worked through the entire Christmas break practicing physically and mentally to be able to compete at this level,” said Head Cheer Coach Ashton Jennings. “Meanwhile, we had the opportunity to cheer at men's and women's basketball games and conduct clinics to fundraise. They should have be completely drained and in need of a break. Somehow after 48 hours being home, I was getting calls to unlock the gym. That in itself is a coach's dream, and I couldn't be prouder of their attitudes and work ethic.”
Gianna Milanese, a senior on the team, praised her teammates’ dedication and commitment to preparing for the event.
“After finals and school got out, we practiced every single day, some days were 10, 11, 12-hour long days,” Milanese said. “It was blood, sweat and tears going into it for a solid two months before we left.”
The team practiced at 5 a.m. in preparation for the early competition start times. Milanese, emotional upon hearing the team's name announced in the finals, said the experience was unforgettable.
“I’m not a crier, and I literally bawled my eyes out when they announced our name for finals,” she said. “Just because I knew we deserved it.”
In addition to the competition results, Milanese reflected on the camaraderie developed with her teammates, particularly bonding with underclassmen.
“I enjoyed getting to bond with some of the freshmen, talk more with the juniors, and just really getting to know them more outside of their cheer potential,” Milanese said.
Freshman team member Addie Potts echoed the sentiment, calling the experience of nationals special.
“Nationals is so special to me because we get to show the world what we can do, and I get to do that with all of my favorite people by my side,” Potts said.
For sophomore Hillary Hathcock, who is in her first year at USM, the competition marked the culmination of hours of hard work and focus on maintaining a positive attitude.
“We worked so many hours, and this year we really focused on a good attitude,” Hathcock said. “We had to really dig deep during some of those two-a-day practices to have a good attitude, come in, and really fight for what we wanted, and we had to remember the end goal.”
Hathcock said the opportunity to perform on the national stage was rewarding and surreal, and she looks forward to future competitions.
“Placing eighth was just so surreal, and I wouldn’t have changed it, I wouldn’t have gone with any other team,” Hathcock said. “Hopefully next year we’ll go after the medal, but nationals was a dream; it honestly didn’t even feel real, it went by so fast.”
The USM cheerleading team is already looking ahead to next year’s competition with hopes of building on their success.