All Star Legacy Cheer & Dance Perform Well at National Competition

All Star Legacy, a cheerleading and dance program in Northern Virginia, took top honors at the American Championship’s nationals in Myrtle Beach, SC, April 2-3, earning several first place and grand championship titles as well as being named the overall program champion.

All Star Legacy, which has an Ashburn location, took 398 of its almost 500 cheerleaders and dancers to the championships. The program champion award was based on each program’s top five team scores.

With athletes, from Loudoun County, Fairfax County, Prince William County, Maryland and West Virginia, All Star Legacy put 27 dance and cheer routines on the competition floor. Ages ranged from Anklebiters (5-6) to the International Open team (18 and older).

“Each year we take every team that we have for a big family-style national event,” co-owner Trisha Hart said. “Between our athletes, staff, family members and supporters we were more than 1,000 people strong.”

In addition to being named program champion, All Star Legacy’s elite Senior Co-ed Level 5 cheerleading team earned the grand champion award for all senior-aged teams ­– athletes 18 and under. Senior 5, as the team is known, earned the highest score of the entire event.

The same accolades were bestowed upon Legacy’s top junior (14 and under) and youth (11 and under) teams, with the Junior Co-ed Level 5 team and the Youth Level 4 team earning grand champion titles for their age groups.

In dance, the Open Jazz team (16 and older) was named grand champion for dance and received a Judge’s Choice award for having the best dance technique – in turns and leaps.

Several athletes took the floor alone, earning first place trophies for their efforts: Arenn Martin and Rachel Fernandes, both of Fairfax, won first place for their pom dance duet. West Virginia’s Caroline Simpson won first place for the 5 and under Hip Hop dance solos; and Taylor Brinkley, of Manassas, earned first place in the 13- to 15-year-old cheer solo division, with a score of 94.90 out of 100!

“Our athletes work so hard all year, from June to April, to put their best possible skills on the floor,” Hart said. “To see them succeed at an event surrounded by their fellow athletes is so amazing. We could not be prouder of our All Star Legacy family.”

All Star Legacy’s Senior 5 team will be representing the program at the USASF Cheerleading & Dance Worlds in Orlando, FL, April 29-May 1, while Open Jazz will compete at U.S. Finals in Washington, DC, May 7-8. The Senior 5 and Junior Co-Ed Level 5 team will be competing at the prestigious All Levels Championship in Philadelphia April 16-17.

For more information on All Star Legacy’s cheer and dance program, or tryouts for the 2011-2012 season starting in May, visit www.allstarlegacy.com, or call 703-444-6002.