The Tehachapi Warrior Cheerleaders are ecstatic after winning first in their division at United Spirit Association Nationals Competition over the weekend.
The team of 24 said after hours of practice, countless sports games and all the competitions that got them to this point, it was worth every second.
Kristen Luper, a Junior at THS, said she's been in cheer since she was five and had never won a national title. At the beginning of this season, she faced a serious injury, "I was running and I stepped in a little hole and my ankle just completely flipped over," Kristen said.
She fought through the injury though, saying "it was hard, I wanted to cry like every second and I probably shouldn't have been cheering, but I did. I pushed through it because cheer is a sport that I love."
The young women said they've grown closer through the season, calling the team a family that holds each other up.
"I think being a captain, I've realized how much of an influence I can have on the younger girls," Senior Emily Mifflin said she wants to be the person girls can come to when they feel peer pressure.
The young women say cheerleading has made a huge impact on them. "[Being] a person that is always supporting everyone, no matter what it is or what they do and always being positive," Luper said.
"At school, I'm always that little shy girl that's scared to speak, and when I'm on the mat, I'm like Yeah! Let's do this! We got this guys!!" Robin Debruyne said.
Nerves were kicking right before the team name was called for first place at the competition. "After they called second place, we knew and we started crying and we were shaking and then when they called our name we started jumping up and down and just crying and hugging each other and everyone was just freaking out because we made first place. And we're going to go back and defend our title," Debruyne said.
For Luper, the win meant fulfilling her dream. She had gone to Nationals twice but placed second both times. "Just like so much pride in our team and how we worked so hard for it, it was great. It's like hard to explain," she said tearing up.
Now some of the ladies will be graduating and others are nervous to tryout for next year, knowing they have set the bar pretty high.
"I'm a little nervous to be trying out again, just because I want to feel this again. I want to feel like a champion again because it's the greatest feeling in the world," Debruyne said.
