Barnegat Cheerleaders in Finals at Nationals Today

UPDATE: The Bengal girls placed third in their division once again, one of several Ocean County squads to place highly in the Orlando competition. Check back with us tomorrow for more details.

The Barnegat High School varsity cheerleading team made it through preliminary competitions at the National High School Cheerleading Championship at Disney in Orlando, Fla. with high marks Saturday, and today, the Bengal girls seek to once again place high in finals.

The team has had two third-place finishes at nationals in the last two years, and this year faced competition from more than 30 of the best high school squads of similar size from around the country. 

Coach Shannon Smith said the girls had a near-perfect preliminary round, and then improved their score in the semi-finals. Out of the 15 semi-finalists, the squad got the third-highest score, allowing them to move directly to finals.

"The best part was we scored so well and still had mistakes," Smith said in an email update Saturday, "so there is still room for improvement and our scores to go up again tomorrow."

Today, the team faces a clean slate. Their previous performances on the mat got them to the final competition, but have no bearing on their final score. But Smith said that no matter what the final score is, she's already proud of her team for being one of the top 13 in the nation. Whatever they achieve today is just the icing on the cake, she said.

"I have never been prouder," Smith said. "These girls have really come together out on that nationals mat and proved to everyone, including themselves, that they are capable of hitting this routine – that they have that determination and trust in themselves and their teammates to push through and never give up – never settle."

The girls perform at 1:34 p.m., and will find out where they stand at final awards from 2:15 to 3 p.m.