The Lawrence High School cheer team overcame graduation overhaul and finished strong in the Colonial Valley Conference and Monroe competitions. Seated, left to right: Erica Levin, Mariefred Evans and Sarah Gorski. Kneeling, left to right: Madelyn Turner, Stefanie Hernandez-Mendez, Shannon Ari, Skylar Guadagno, Veronika Hajduczka, Carly Piazza, Samantha Gardocki and Selena Denko. Standing, left to right: Julianne Hughes, Maya Pacheco-Smith, Gwyndolyn Molony, Madison Mahler, Julia Jakowiak, Chloe Brensigner, A’Joule Giovannetti, Maura Farrell and Sabrina Koza.
It would be understandable if this year’s Lawrence High cheerleaders decided that they were too young to compete for any honors this year, and that they would just try to prepare for future seasons. After all, the Cardinals did graduate 12 seniors from last year’s Colonial Valley Conference champion squad.
As it turns out, there would be nothing to forgive.
With experienced captains leading a crew of fresh, exuberant newcomers, Lawrence took second place in the Colonial Valley Conference’s Large Division competition Nov. 22, followed by a third-place finish in the Large Varsity Division of the Monroe competition that featured teams from around the state.
“I knew this year would be different and the team would face challenges, but I remained optimistic because of the positive attitudes our new team contained,” said Mariefred Evans, a senior captain along with Erica Levin and Sarah Gorski. “I faced the reality that this new team, dominated by juniors, did not have the sheer strength as our team last year. I did not, however, view this year as a rebuilding year.”
An eagerness to learn, she said, made up for the lack of strength.
“Cries of ‘I don’t want to’ or ‘I can’t do that’ were replaced with heads nodding, smiling in excitement to attempt new stunts and fly higher than before,” Evans said. “This new team had an incredible respect for the sport and eager minds.”
Levin, now in her fourth year, called it “the most positive team I have been on as a Lawrence varsity cheerleader.”
“We were open to trying new things and working with different people,” she said. “No matter what, the entire team remained encouraging, and this was definitely the main thing that kept our team so strong. After the CVC competition our sense of positivity skyrocketed, and we went into the practices for the next competition with the determination to perform even better than the last.”
Gorski felt her younger teammates provided a lift for the veterans.
“Being a captain for this team is made incredibly easy by my teammates’ willingness to work hard,” she said. “The girls are very self-motivated and all want to work to better the team. We have one common goal and that is what makes us stronger than our competitors. “
The Cardinals are coached by Adrienne Landolfi, now in her fourth season at the helm. She shares the credit with junior varsity and middle school coaches Courtney Gatto and Victoria Salinski.
“We have a strong staff,” Landolfi said. “We talked about moving forward and where we want the program to go. We’re lucky that way, we have a good cohesion among the coaching staff and that’s definitely reflected in the girls’ performance.”
Aside from the captains, Lawrence had just two other seniors in Madelyn Turner and Selena Denko. Rounding out the roster are juniors Chloe Brensinger, Maura Farrell, Samantha Gardocki, Julianne Hughes, Julia Jakowiak, Sabrina Koza, Madison Mahler, Gwyndolyn Molony and Carly Piazza; sophomore Maya Pacheco-Smith and freshmen Skylar Guadagno and Veronika Hajduczka.
The coach felt the tone for the season was set when the team went to the Poconos for three days prior to the start of the fall season.
“That brings the team together so we can see how they can come together in their routines,” Landolfi said. “When we were away at camp during our preseason, you could see all the personalities come out. It was literally the second day of camp and we were seeing what they’re capable of doing. I thought then that the team had potential to do well, and they exceeded that.”
Much of it had to do with sacrifice and willingness to do whatever was necessary for the team.
“Girls like Gwyn Molony who jumped into the position as a back-spot without hesitation are the reason our team was successful,” Evans said. “She was aware she had never been in this position before, but instead of complaining, she gratefully accepted the advice of her peers and is now one of our team’s most valuable backs. This willingness to learn and the ability to accept advice from teammates and act upon it are the reasons our team succeeded.”
That attitude started at the top, with the girls who have been through it all before.
“My captains are my go-to girls,” Landolfi said. “They keep everybody motivated. One thing about this team is they all get along and were very supportive of one another. You have someone’s life literally in your hands for them to attempt the skills they do, there’s a lot involved with that.”
As captains, the girls were responsible for promoting an interest in the sport and maintaining positive attitudes, among other duties.
“Whether it is pulling someone aside if they seem to be having an off day or are discouraged by hardships, giving the team ‘Kisses from the Captains’ on competition days, or giving a quick pep talk, we always tried to promote stronger cheerleaders, but also promote strong character,” Evans said.
Levin agreed.
“As three captains, we worked together to provide a foundation for the new girls,” she said. “We gave them the opportunity of having three different leadership styles that came together to form one incredibly solid leadership team.”
Levin has been cheering since the eighth grade and calls cheerleading “my outlet in high school for expression, physical activity and a family bond that can never be broken.”
Evans is a lifer, having begged her mom to sign her up for Lawrence Lightning clinics in second grade. She went from Pop Warner, to middle school, to varsity as a freshman and also coaches the Lightning. This past summer she was asked to try out for the Universal Cheerleaders’ Association Staff.
For the Cardinals, cheerleading is more than performing at competitions and athletic contests. Landolfi calls them “the face of the school community” and noted that just recently the girls did a clinic at Ben Franklin Elementary School and participated in the American Red Cross Heart Walk in September.
And while it all seems like fun and good times—and most of it is—being a cheerleader doesn’t mean just putting on a uniform, shaking pom poms and hopping around at games. The work that goes into it is intense, as witnessed by Evans training in the weight room with the football team last summer.
The tri-captains all have very firm ideas on what it means to cheer.
“Being a cheerleader is intense work, and many people would never realize it,” Levin said. “It is a commitment and time-consuming. When someone on a basketball or baseball team isn’t present, the show can still go on. When you are a cheerleader, every person is needed for stunts.”
Levin went on to compare stunt work to lifting weights.
“Sports teams lift weights, cheerleaders lift people,” she said. “If you drop a weight, it won’t break. But when you drop a girl, and someone gets hurt, it’s a member of your family. Cheerleading is all about mastering the skill. It’s about learning how to not stand out alone, but how to stand out as a team. Coordination is key. Each day we condition. We work hard. No matter what everyone else says about our sport, we use it as encouragement to keep going.”
Evans feels the best way for people to understand the commitment is to come see it for themselves.
“I challenge people to come to our practices, look at our halftime performances, or even look at our three-minute competition video, because our hard work and dedication speak louder than our cheers,” she said. Gorski said the practice sessions are far from the image people have conjured in their heads. In addition to the physical demands cheering requires, the emotional demands are just as tough.
“Our routines always hit during practice, but what is tough it making it happen on the performance mat,” she said. “We practice six day a week and the majority of those practices are spent throwing people in the air. To be able to have the strength and technique to make these people stacking stunts safe are skills very few people have.”
She also feels the uniforms perpetuate the stereotype.
“Honestly, I think the main reason why cheerleading is considered an inferior sport is because it is considered feminine,” Gorski said. “Just because we wear skirts does not make us any less athletic than any of the other female sports teams.”
Evans definitely feels what cheerleaders do goes well beyond hitting routines and rallying the troops. “The real contributions can be seen in everyday life as we continue to encourage our classmates and friends to do their best,” she said. “Not only on the sidelines, but every day we are able to incorporate what we have learned to better society. We have the strength to launch our peers into the air, but we incorporate our ideals and beliefs into our regular lives by being symbols of positivity. Furthering our determined, positive minds, we motivate not only our fellow athletes, but try to shape the world around us and leave a call for positivity one act at a time.”
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