PHOTOS: Banning Broncos Cheer Squad Practices for Nationals

The Banning High Cheer Squad practiced Monday night for their first-ever national competition, scheduled April 15-16 in Las Vegas.

They qualified for the Sharp International Las Vegas 2011 National Title Cheerleading Championship by placing first at a recent competitive event in Hemet, and third at another event in Rialto, Assistant Coach Angela Smith said.

The 31 members of the team, ages 14 to 17, are the first Broncos cheer squad in memory to qualify for a national competition, Smith said during practice at Banning High.

"We think we're the first," Smith said. "No one's told us otherwise so far."

Members of the current Broncos cheer squad learned from previous teams, said Amanda Santos, 20, a former Broncos cheer captain, and daughter of Cheer Coach Raulene Santos.

"It's from the teams that came before," Santos said. "When you're junior varsity, you watch the varsity, and you see all the work that goes into it. You know it doesn't just happen."

The seven boys on the Broncos squad play other sports, including football, baseball, basketball and soccer, Smith and Santos said.

"This is the most boys we've ever had," Santos said. "Every year we get more and more boys. Some of them see their friends doing it. They see it's not some girlie thing. It's a sport."

Qualifying for the national competition in Las Vegas is an achievement everyone is proud of, Santos said.

"It's really, really big," Santos said. "Not many people get to do it. It's got to be about the team. It's not about one person on the team, you can't do it by yourself. Everybody has to want it."

The Bronco Cheer Booster Club and Coach Raulene Santos are requesting donations to help cover the squad's competition costs. They can be mailed to P.O. Box 686, Banning CA 92220.