A new addition to varsity sports at Saint Francis, our Saint Francis cheer team has entered a new era as a winter sport. While you may have seen them perform at a football game’s halftime show or at our school rallies, this year marks the start of a competitive team that partakes in competition cheer. As Olivia Campagna (’25) describes, “many of us have been hoping to be a part of a competitive team at Saint Francis since freshman year,” so after years of anticipation, let’s take a look at this team’s special season.
As a growing sport that is popular among students off campus, the high school arena for this sport is expanding. The Lancers’ had their first competition of the season at James Logan High School in December. At the United Spirit Association Northern California Regional II Competition, they earned a second place finish with an impressive score of 91.30 out of 100 points.
However, in order to compete at this high level the team practices constantly and rigorously for two hours after school—perfecting their coordination and synchrony. They start with warm ups, followed by a ten-minute stretch. After that, they refine individual sections of their routine. Campagna notes that at the end of practice, “we run through the entire routine until we hit all of our stunts, tumbling, [and] jumps, properly,” an impressive feat considering all of the complicated choreography. She adds that her “favorite part is the satisfaction of hitting a stunt after working on it throughout the duration of practice.”
The Lancers’ also have a special tradition that is a part of their pre-performance routine. Before every performance, the team recites a cheer that they came up with at the beginning of the season. The cheer gets them in the zone and is one that they keep consistent throughout the year. With many new exciting changes this year, the team is closer than ever and ready to compete.
Another competition that the team traveled to was the Central Coast Section Championship in January. They competed in the Show Cheer Traditional Novice (Small) category and finished third out of eight teams with a score of 90.13 out of 100 points. Considering that it was only their second competition of the season, the team has made a significant impact—paving the path for future Lancers’.
Although the team didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for competitions this year, Campagna hopes that people will take note of the sport and the time and effort it requires: “Cheer takes a lot of persistence because it is difficult to perfect certain skills [and] stunts.” With many years of success ahead of them, it will be exciting to watch our Lancer cheer team grow!
