The Ivy Hill Broncos squad came out on top at the Pop Warner National Cheer competition in Florida last week
NEWARK - For once, it wasn't the Ivy Hill Broncos doing the cheering.
On Sunday, the Junior Midget cheerleading squad from Newark's West Ward gathered at Ivy Hill Park, where they were honored for bringing home a national championship from the Pop Warner National Cheer competition in Florida.
Officials including Mayor Ras Baraka and School Advisory Board Vice Chair Marques-Aquil Lewis were among those on hand to give the group of 18 girls and 1 boy some well-deserved accolades.
The team of 12 and 13-year-olds had gone to the championship tournament at Walt Disney World last year, but finished ninth - an underwhelming finish that Cheer Coordinator Marcelline Bailey said fueled major progress this year.
"There was a lot of growth. I think what served the growth was the disappointment," she said.
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After judges named a pair of runner-up squads following last week's competition, the team feared they had once again come up short. Just seconds later, however, they learned they had come out on top.
"They were in shock. There were a lot of tears," Bailey said.
The cheer squad was joined in Florida by two Pop Warner football teams from Newark's Brick City Lions, one of which advanced all the way to the championship game before falling just short of a title.
