The Washington Township Cheerleaders are back in action this year as they continue to bring the TWP spirit to the Minutemen football games. The minutemen have officially started their season, and the cheerleaders have started off their season along with them. However, the cheerleaders have another event marked up in their calendars, retaining the Conference Championship.

“Conference to a Township Cheerleader is a tradition and a journey,” says Lauren Murray’16, “It is something that motivates us and brings us together with our current team, to remember all the cheerleaders before us who have set us up for our 13^th title.”

For 11 years in a row, the Washington Township Cheerleaders took home the Conference Champion title. In February of 2010, they lost their title to the Timber Creek Cheerleading team, and again in 2011. After the championship was canceled in 2012 due to lack of teams being able to participate, the competition season, and Conference Championship were moved from winter to fall.

In November of 2013, the cheerleaders gained back their title as Conference Champions. A “2013” was finally added to the Cheerleading Conference Championship Banner, starting a new tradition. Since the competition had taken a year-hiatus, half of the current team members had never competed for a conference title before. For all of them, it was their first time ever winning a conference.

“Since this is my first year on varsity, I don’t know how it felt for the team to win conference last year, but I know how much it means to my teammates that did win”, says Trish Espiritu ’17, “Keeping the title of Conference Champs won’t be easy, and we’re going to struggle, but winning would be worth so much more if we know we got there by pushing through the difficulties.”

            “Conference is something you hear about when you become a Township Cheerleader,” says Lauren Murray ’16, “you don’t understand it at tryouts or when you’re handed your uniform, you understand it when you look around the room and there are 20 people there for the same reason as you, and that 200 more of the ones you love came to see you make it happen.”

It is now 2014, and another conference is on the horizon this November. As far as what the squad has to do this season to prepare their team for the win, Captain Calie Meintel says confidently that “We are Township, and we can renew our conference title. We have a great work ethic and if we continue it, this season should be a successful season for our team!”