Darien Swarm PeeWee Cheerleaders Advance to Nationals at Disney World

It's been quite the stellar year for the Darien Swarm PeeWee cheerleaders. A first place win at the Pop Warner Regional Meet at Northern University secured a trip to Disney World and a chance to compete at nationals, held Dec. 6 at the ESPN Sports Complex.

Collegiate cheerleader and alum Danielle Kowalski and her assistant, lifelong cheerleader Cassandra Cox, coach the Darien Swarm PeeWee Squad. The squad consists of Camryn Hulvat, Haley and Lacey Jenkins, Camille Miller, Kayla O’Leary, Cali Stafford and Maureen Christofaro.

This 2011 Swarm PeeWee squad of seven were mostly brand new to cheerleading at the start of the season. Blending the diverse skills and cheer experiences of the group was an exciting challenge for coaches Danielle and Cassie. However, all the girls were very motivated to always improve themselves. They consistently developed their tumbling, jumps and flexibility with each competition.

At the conference competition, they placed second and were thrilled to advance to the regional competition. This group brought a phenomenal intensity to practices preparing for the Chicagoland regional competition. It all paid off with a first place finish, making this Swarm squad the first to ever go to a Pop Warner National competition!

Pop Warner Cheerleading Nationals was a great experience! The girls gave it their very best on the competition mat and were ecstatic to place first in the Spirit/Sideline competition and ninth overall It was a great reward for all their hard work throughout the season and an amazing testament to how far their skills had come throughout the year. More importantly, it was also a great experience for the girls to bond and become even closer friends. 

We are so very proud of our 2011 PeeWee squad (as well as the Junior PeeWee and Tiny-Mite squads) for all their success this year. Darien Swarm Cheer Coordinator Janine Kirin remarked, “I am so proud of all of the cheerleaders. They have worked so hard all season and it certainly paid off! Coaches Danielle and Cassie are wonderful role models for these girls and we are so fortunate that they are a part of the Darien Swarm program.” 

Cheerleader Haley Jenkins said, "Cheerleading has impacted my life by giving me the opportunity to meet new people in my district and has given me the experience to go places that I've never been and accomplish bigger achievements while spending time with the people that I love. Cheerleading has taught me that you can do what you love and still be a good sport whether you win or lose!"

"Nationals is the best thing that ever happened to me," said cheerleader Camryn Hulvat. "A few years ago I was just learning how to do cartwheels, and now I’m doing back walk-overs and spiriting out of Mickey Mouse ears! I am just so amazed that my team and I made it to nationals since it my first year on the team. I have also made a lot of new friends. If it wasn’t for my team, I wouldn’t be writing this right now."  

The Darien Swarm Cheerleading program is for girls aged 5-14 in Darien and the surrounding areas. Registration for the 2012 season will begin in February. Please check our website – www.darienswarm.com – for details.