Cheerleading: John Jay wins inaugural 'Game Day' regional championship

Alice Granger sounded a little like a football coach, insisting her team couldn’t get full of itself because film study would reveal subtle errors, and that preparation for next Sunday began shortly after their triumph last weekend.

“We’re cautiously optimistic because we understand confidence can be fleeting depending on your next performance,” the John Jay-East Fishkill cheer coach said. “You have to stay focused because, on any given Sunday, you can falter if you’re not putting your best foot forward.”

The football-esque parlance might be fitting, though, after the Patriots won the Game Day Cheerleading east regional championship last weekend at Arlington High School.

The event, in its inaugural year, drew 60 cheer teams from around the state for a tournament in which they performed routines like those used on the sideline during football games. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association added this to its fall sports championships in addition to the traditional competitive cheer tournaments held during the winter.

Those competitions feature dance numbers and high-level acrobatics, including elaborate pyramid stunts. Game Day-style cheer centers more on entertainment and crowd interaction, as it does on game days.

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“It was really different because we went from doing all these crazy stunts to working more on cheer techniques and synchronization,” senior Laurel Beal said of her introduction to the new format. “It wasn’t necessarily easier than what we‘re used to, because it requires different types of skills. But it was awesome to see that we can do this well, too.”

John Jay in recent years has been among the best competitive cheer teams in the state, and the Patriots showed they also can rock the sidelines, winning the Class A bracket of the Game Day tournament.

In this, the pilot version of the championship, teams were split geographically throughout the state and competed in separate East and West regionals. The East included teams from Sections 1, 2, 8 and 9. The NYSPHSAA plans to have it become a complete state tournament in 2023.

The Patriots also will be among the teams competing in the Section 1 “Game Day” championships Sunday at Blind Brook High School.

“It’s more about signs, flags, formations and getting the crowd into it,” Granger said. “This style opens the door for cheerleaders, who may not be great tumblers or don’t have much stunt experience, to showcase their other skills.”

Each team performed for three minutes and was graded on its band chant, fight song, situational sideline cheer and crowd leading segments.

John Jay scored 92.9, finishing ahead of Section 8’s Oceanside (86.2) and North Rockland (82.6). Ursuline, which has for years competed in this style at national tournaments, totaled 96.7 to win the Class B title. Plainedge of Long Island took first in Class C, and Section 9’s James I. O’Neill won Class D.

Poughkeepsie, Arlington, Highland and Franklin D. Roosevelt high schools were among the locals that competed.

Some credit for the Patriots' success belongs to the fans, who cheered vociferously and “really got into it,” which enhanced the performance, junior Caitlyn Moran said. Coaches, too, including assistants Stephanie Reynolds and Julia Tsesmetzis.

Their high-energy routine and the roaring audience helped earn them points, Granger said.

“I was super excited,” Moran said of winning. “I had a good feeling because I know we did really well, but you can’t be too comfortable because other teams also did well. Knowing that, hearing our team announced as the champion made us feel so proud.”

The Patriots took second in the competitive cheer state championships in 2018 and third in 2020. The team has since entered a rebuilding phase, Granger said, and there are only five seniors on its roster of 28.

A challenge this season has been building chemistry among a relatively young group with varying experience levels.

“In this (format) we have to be showy and loud and we’re not always great at that,” senior Sarah Lane admitted. “We were apprehensive at first and it took us about a month to get comfortable.”

The team leaned on its leaders including Rachel Kanter, Grace Young, Emma Canero, Simone Richardson and Gigi Forte to help the group become cohesive.

The Patriots won a competition at Minisink Valley on Oct. 7 and that, Lane said, convinced them they could be successful.

Granger said the team's victory at the Walter Panas Invitational two weeks ago — an outdoor competition held on the school’s football field — gave the athletes momentum going into the regional.

“It’s really cool because we began to see Game Day as an opportunity to show people what else we can do,” Lane said. “Even with so many young girls on our team, we can adjust to something different and do it well.”

Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: John Jay cheer wins inaugural Game Day-style regional championship