April 12, 2019 at 04:04AM
The New Mexico State Cheerleading Squad took home fourth place in the 2019 National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) competition in Daytona Beach, Florida. The competition was held April 4-6. (Photo: Courtesy Photo/NM State Cheer)
LAS CRUCES - The New Mexico State cheerleading squad had a lot to cheer about this past weekend, as the team took home fourth place in the 2019 National Cheerleaders Association competition in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The national competition was held April 4-6.
The NM State cheerleading squad consists of 35 athletes and is under the direction of Jessica Covington, head coach of the team for 11 years, and Stephanie Beauregard, assistant coach.
Covington said she is extremely proud of the squad.
"When I took over I wanted the program to become a competitive program because the NMSU cheerleaders were not competitive prior to me taking over. To build up and be able to compete on the big stage is a very proud moment," Covington said. "This year, these cheerleaders put in time in the classroom, and they cheer over 60 days a year and put in community service. Then on the other side of it, they're in the weight room, training and they have practices. I am incredibly proud of all the athletes, they put in so much time and effort and they really don't get an off season."
Covington said the squad attends a cheer camp every summer and qualified to receive a bid for nationals in August of last year.
"The squad's first responsibility is the game-day aspect of cheerleading which is supporting the football team, the volleyball team, men and women's basketball, appearances and community service. This competition is a chance for them to have something basically of their own," Covington said. "We cheer many games but behind the scenes we practice all year long for this one competition. We also attended USA Nationals in Anaheim, California, in February and they placed second place at that competition. They do have that competitive aspect and we definitely work all year for those."
During nationals, squads perform one routine that they've perfected throughout the year and are judged on different skills.
"On day one in Daytona, we did a 45-second game-day, crowd-leading portion — then did a two-minute-and-15-second routine with music. In this routine, there's different, various aspects such as stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, standing, running and tumbling, jumps and choreography," Covington said. "They judge every little aspect of the routine and they make sure everything hits perfectly. Mistakes lead to deductions which can make or break you in a competition."
Covington said the NCA event is one of the biggest cheerleading competitions at the collegiate level.
"There is somewhere around 7,000 athletes that compete. There are hundreds of college teams, probably 400 teams that compete for cheer and dance," Covington said. "In our division we have University of Louisville in Kentucky, Oklahoma State University, Texas Tech University, University of South Carolina and University of Texas at San Antonio. We go against the best of the best which we like to do at the competitive level."
Covington said being one of the top squads in the country means a lot for NMSU and the cheerleading program.
"I think that in the cheerleading world, the NCA collegiate national competition is a big stage. I think it definitely shows not only how much the program has grown but it really shows how the athletes are ambassadors of New Mexico State and that we can compete against those big colleges," she said.
The New Mexico State cheerleading squad is already recruiting new members. Tryouts for the squad as well as for mascot Pistol Pete, will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 4 at the Pan American Center gym, 1810 University Ave. For information and updates visit www.nmsports.com or email Beauregard at sbeau@nmsu.edu.
Jacqueline Devine can be reached at 575-541-5476, JDevine@lcsun-news.com or @JackieIsDevine on Twitter.
The New Mexico State Cheerleading Squad took home fourth place in the 2019 National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) competition in Daytona Beach, Florida. The competition was held April 4-6. (Photo: Courtesy Photo/NM State Cheer)
LAS CRUCES - The New Mexico State cheerleading squad had a lot to cheer about this past weekend, as the team took home fourth place in the 2019 National Cheerleaders Association competition in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The national competition was held April 4-6.
The NM State cheerleading squad consists of 35 athletes and is under the direction of Jessica Covington, head coach of the team for 11 years, and Stephanie Beauregard, assistant coach.
Covington said she is extremely proud of the squad.
"When I took over I wanted the program to become a competitive program because the NMSU cheerleaders were not competitive prior to me taking over. To build up and be able to compete on the big stage is a very proud moment," Covington said. "This year, these cheerleaders put in time in the classroom, and they cheer over 60 days a year and put in community service. Then on the other side of it, they're in the weight room, training and they have practices. I am incredibly proud of all the athletes, they put in so much time and effort and they really don't get an off season."
Covington said the squad attends a cheer camp every summer and qualified to receive a bid for nationals in August of last year.
"The squad's first responsibility is the game-day aspect of cheerleading which is supporting the football team, the volleyball team, men and women's basketball, appearances and community service. This competition is a chance for them to have something basically of their own," Covington said. "We cheer many games but behind the scenes we practice all year long for this one competition. We also attended USA Nationals in Anaheim, California, in February and they placed second place at that competition. They do have that competitive aspect and we definitely work all year for those."
During nationals, squads perform one routine that they've perfected throughout the year and are judged on different skills.
"On day one in Daytona, we did a 45-second game-day, crowd-leading portion — then did a two-minute-and-15-second routine with music. In this routine, there's different, various aspects such as stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, standing, running and tumbling, jumps and choreography," Covington said. "They judge every little aspect of the routine and they make sure everything hits perfectly. Mistakes lead to deductions which can make or break you in a competition."
Covington said the NCA event is one of the biggest cheerleading competitions at the collegiate level.
"There is somewhere around 7,000 athletes that compete. There are hundreds of college teams, probably 400 teams that compete for cheer and dance," Covington said. "In our division we have University of Louisville in Kentucky, Oklahoma State University, Texas Tech University, University of South Carolina and University of Texas at San Antonio. We go against the best of the best which we like to do at the competitive level."
Covington said being one of the top squads in the country means a lot for NMSU and the cheerleading program.
"I think that in the cheerleading world, the NCA collegiate national competition is a big stage. I think it definitely shows not only how much the program has grown but it really shows how the athletes are ambassadors of New Mexico State and that we can compete against those big colleges," she said.
The New Mexico State cheerleading squad is already recruiting new members. Tryouts for the squad as well as for mascot Pistol Pete, will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 4 at the Pan American Center gym, 1810 University Ave. For information and updates visit www.nmsports.com or email Beauregard at sbeau@nmsu.edu.
Jacqueline Devine can be reached at 575-541-5476, JDevine@lcsun-news.com or @JackieIsDevine on Twitter.
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