Southold Varsity Cheer Team Makes Finals: 'What An Amazing Feat!'

NORTH FORK, NY — They made their hometown proud: The Southold Varsity Cheer team placed 25th in the nation — in the Small Varsity Division 2 team category — at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, Florida this weekend.

Coach Lauren Berry was brimming with pride at the girls' achievement — next, the team is headed to the Suffolk County Championships on Saturday.

"This team has worked extremely hard, from the beginning of the season," she said. "This is just a dream team. They work together as a family, and are constantly motivating each other and striving to be the best that they can be."

The Florida competition marked the first time the team, which is comprised from students at both Southold and Greenport High Schools, ever competed in the national event — and, once there, they advanced in every round, from preliminary, to the quarter finals, the semi-finals, and then the finals, Berry said. "I'm very proud of them," she added.

The achievement, she said, "shows that they have a great sense of commitment. They have great leadership skills."

And, she added, the North Fork community has supported the team the entire way, from fundraising, to sending heartfelt messages of support from home once the girls reached Florida. "We couldn't have done this without the support of the families and the entire communities of both Southold and Greenport," Berry said.

The team raised enough through fundraising and sponsors to pay for each girl's entire trip.

As coach, Berry said it was always her goal to have the team advance to the Florida competition and take pride in their routines and performances. "I've been proud this entire season," she said. "They've held a Top 3 position in the county for the entire season. My goal was to go down there and for them to have the best time. And then we advanced, and I was so proud of them, every single time we took the mat."

Team Captain Dylan Reilly, 17, and a Southold High School senior, shared her experience with Patch.

"Being my last year, I wanted this to be something special," Dylan said. The team, she said, began working together later than the other teams, but they made up for that with enthusiasm and grit. "It was a huge accomplishment just to get invited to the national competition, "she said. "And then we ended up making it to the finals, which was a dream come true."

To place 25th in the nation in their division out of 90 teams, Dylan said, "feels amazing."

Most of the girls on the team have been working together since they were young, many with the North Fork Cheer group, she said. Although she started cheer in the fifth grade, and the others began a bit earlier, Dylan said she was welcomed right away and immediately, the girls all became the best of friends.

"It was so special that we got to experience this together," Dylan said. "This is our second family. We work together every day after school — and I was so happy to be able to do this with them."

When asked what the success the team garnered in the competition meant, Dylan said: "It's all about hard work and dedication, from everyone on the team. You can't half-do cheer. It's all in, or nothing. Everyone on the team wanted to come to the nationals so badly. We worked so hard to be here — and it showed, when we made it to the finals."

Dylan also thanked the loving North Fork community who buoyed the girls not just with donations, but with notes of encouragement and an outpouring of support. "Southold is such a special community," she said. "It made us feel so much better coming down here, knowing we have such a great support system back home."

Dylan said she and her team also wanted to thank Coach Berry. "We could not have done this without her," she said. "She's always there for us. She's like another parent to us, and we're like her kids. She will do anything for us."

Dina Reilly, Dylan's mother, also reflected on the girls' success in Orlando: "As the mom of a senior, I’m so happy for Dylan to have had this incredible experience. These girls work incredibly hard. There was no pool time, no going to the park. They came to work and their goal was to make it past preliminaries. They have just one shot, just two-and-a half-minutes. And they made it through to the final round. Their division started with 90 teams. Our little team of 12 with one, singular coach held their own against teams much larger than them, with four or more coaches! I honestly wonder if these young ladies actually understand what an amazing feat that was."