SJU Cheerleading made history by bringing home the second place trophy in the Spirit Rally division and the third place trophy in the Intermediate division at the National Cheerleaders Association College Nationals.
The competition was held April 9-13 in Daytona Beach, Florida, at the Ocean Center. The game day squad, which placed second, and the traditional competition squad, which placed third, both competed in their respective divisions. This was the first time St. Joes has competed in two different divisions since 2003, said Lauren Hanos ’04, marketing and spirit coordinator for St. Joe’s athletics.
Christina DiMaggio ’25 is a member of the game day squad and said the style of their Spirit Rally routine was a new concept for team members who had previously only competed in traditional competitions.
“Some people that were on the team had competed before [in] traditional competition, which is a routine and more skills based, whereas the [Spirit Rally] routine that we performed was crowd engagement, crowd leading and working with props, like signs, flags and pom-poms,” DiMaggio said.
McKenzie Harris ’26, a member of the competition squad, said the team had high expectations going into Nationals last year but placed ninth overall. Not meeting the standards they set pushed them to work even harder this year.
“It definitely lit more of a fire under us because we did not want to feel that again,” Harris said.
Hanos was the head coach from 2013 up until December 2024, when Kimberly Nichols ’15 assumed the role. Hanos said the coaching staff put in a lot of work to create and choreograph routines for two teams.
“We didn’t want to have a stronger team and a team that wasn’t going to be as successful,” Hanos said. “So, from the time we knew we had enough athletes to make two teams, that was one of our goals, and both teams put in so much work.”
For DiMaggio, placing second at Nationals meant ending her cheerleading career at St. Joe’s on a high note.
“I’ve gone through lots of highs and lows with the program,” DiMaggio said. “To end on this high of representing the school, representing the program and being able to showcase what we have to offer and where this program is able to grow from here and hopefully obtain more recruits, it’s awesome.”
Hanos said it’s “incredible” to see the joy on the team’s faces after performing at such a high level.
“They are going to be able to talk about this for the rest of their lives,” Hanos said. “It’s just amazing to get to see them achieve that on such a big stage because the coaching staff believes in them through and through.”
Harris said the team faced a lot of adversity and had to put in a lot more work than previous years. She said the challenges the team faced has made them stronger competitors and closer as teammates.
“One of the most rewarding parts about it is standing up there with all your best friends,” Harris said. “Looking back and realizing that all that work and all the issues that arose, it was all worth it.”
