Brandon Teens To Cheer in London

In November cheerleaders Q'Ristien Berrian and McKenzie Tewkesbury will receive from the Universal Cheerleading Association a video of their part in a cheer routine they must learn by the end of the year.

It's the same routine they will be performing with girls from other states who will join them in London for the 2013 London New Year's Day Parade & Festival.

Berrian said she gets a thrill knowing that she'll be cheering in the country that hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics.

"I get to represent my country, cheering," she said. "It's like my own little Olympics. There's going to be people all different parts of the world there and we're all coming together."

Berrian, like Tewkesbury, has been cheering since they were young kids. Berrian, whose father is in the U.S. Air Force, has cheered since age 8, in Alabama, Ohio, North Carolina and Florida.

Berrian, 17, cheers with both Brandon High School, where she is a senior,and with the Brandon All-Stars.

Tewkesbury, a Brandon High sophomore, said she has cheered since age 4, starting with Little League cheering.

"I love the jumps," she said. "The jumps are so pretty to me. Everyone looks so glamorous when they jump."

The sophomore said she likes to cheer because she likes being around people and making them smile and to feel good about their school. "I think that's one of the most important things you can have," Tewkesbury said, "because if you have school spirit it gives you a good attitude for getting to college and for getting a good job."

As for Berrian, she said she likes to cheer because "I love to jump, I like to smile and I'm really outgoing, it all fits together."

She knows, too, that in London she'll be not only representing her country but also her town.

"Brandon's my home," she said. "It's something to be proud of."