Ramapo HS Varsity Cheerleaders Place Second at National Competition

Congratulations are in order for the Ramapo High School Varsity Cheerleaders, who recently traveled to Orlando, FL to compete in the National Contest of Champions held at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex and took second place in the High School Intermediate Small division after competing against teams from across the country.

Coached by Ariel Shortino, the Ramapo Varsity team trains for their competitive season beginning in July and continuing through this end-of-season national competition held annually in March, making it one of the longest seasons in high school sports.

“These girls work incredibly hard almost all year long, not only cheering on Ramapo’s various boys and girls athletic teams, but also fundraising and training for their own competitive season,” Shortino said. “This second place finish in a national competition is something we are very proud of.”

The team consists of 19 girls, ranging in age from 15-to-18-years-old, including Seniors Harley Curran, Mollie Jaten, Callie Lopis, Jaclyn Ruggiero, Sam Samuel, Alyssa Sorrenti; Juniors Sam Amato, Jillian Kazlow, Maggie Clapp, Cassie Trudeau, Tori Lopis, Nicole Solomon; Sophomores Katarina Douglas, Sydney Rosenblatt, Francesca Spezia; Freshman Megan Barry, Izzy Bergstein, Sasha Nihamin and Phoebe Taylor.