Four area high school cheer teams qualify for Nationals

Along with defending state champions West Orange High and Foundation Academy, Horizon High and Windermere High also qualified for the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship.

By Sam Albuquerque
| 10:45 a.m. January 9, 2025

Sports

Four West Orange and Southwest Orange County high school cheerleading teams have earned bids to the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship, with defending national and world champions Foundation Academy leading the way by winning its first-ever UCA regional crown.

Along with the Lions, the three other squads that qualified for nationals are the defending state champions West Orange High, Windermere High and Horizon High — this is the Hawks' first time advancing to the national competition.

Nationals will be Feb. 7-10 at ESPN's Wide World of Sports.

author

Sam Albuquerque

A native of João Pessoa, Brazil, Sam Albuquerque moved in 1997 to Central Florida as a kid. After earning a communications degree in 2016 from the University of Central Florida, he started his career covering sports as a producer for a local radio station, ESPN 580 Orlando. He went on to earn a master’s degree in editorial journalism from Northwestern University, before moving to South Carolina to cover local sports for the USA Today Network’s Spartanburg Herald-Journal. When he’s not working, you can find him spending time with his lovely wife, Sarah, newborn son, Noah, and dog named Skulí.