Tigershark Cheer Teams Take First Place at Peninsula Invitational

By Molly Grabowski

In the beginning of October the Pacifica Tigersharks earned a distinction that no other Pop Warner cheer team in the Peninsula Conference can claim: two championship teams. Both the Junior Pee Wee and Midget teams took first place in the Peninsula Invitational Tournament at Shoreline Amphitheater.

The Junior PeeWee team, under Head Coach Deirdrah Racine and Assistant Coaches Courtney Fils and Jayme Ng, has earned a trip to the National Championship for the past two years, but this year, many of the girls who cheered on those teams have moved up in age and on to All Star teams. Despite the number of new, younger teammates, the girls were able to complete some of the most difficult stunts and tumbling passes allowed at their level. They performed a near perfect routine with amazing jumps, full extension lift stunts, and a dramatic elevator lift - something none of their competitors attempted. They outperformed seven other teams to claim the championship title, including many perennial favorites like Hollister, Mountain View, and East Bay.

The girls on the Midget team, coached by Nicole Mercurio and Chelsea Rutledge, began their last year cheering together with a sweet victory over several long time rivals. The Tigersharks are known for their creative choreography and difficult stunts, and this performance was no exception. The girls executed a flawless routine, notable for its precision, with a rare tick tock stunt, barrel rolls, straight-to-full lifts, and amazing jumps and tumbling passes. One of the remarkable aspects of this performance was that half the team were lifted in stunts as “flyers”. Most other teams have just 2 or 3 designated flyers, but the Tigersharks team is comprised of such strong athletes that they can take advantage of the abilities of 6 different flyers.

The youngest Tigersharks, the Tiny Mites, under Head Coach Giamaica Zeidler, also attended the competition. The girls performed an incredibly fierce and difficult routine on the big stage just like their older teammates, but the Tiny Mites are not scored.

All of the Pacifica teams will compete in the Conference Finals in Santa Clara in early November, the first stop on the road to the National Championship at ESPN in Orlando, FL. We have high hopes for our athletes again this year.