NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Niagara University cheerleading team has made history for the institution by bringing home a national championship.
Coach Erin Bailey first took her team to the National Cheerleading Association’s College Nationals 12 years ago. The team placed last, but Bailey said that initial loss didn’t stop her from bringing her team back to Daytona Beach, Florida every year.
“I always wondered what it would feel like to have that moment where they announced Niagara University, a small college in Niagara Falls, New York that most people have never heard of, has won a national championship,” Bailey said.
This year, Bailey was finally able to experience that feeling when her team was awarded first place in the Spirit Rally Division I competition category.
“Getting that win is a big deal for us because now teams are able to look at us and be like, ‘hey, they just won nationals. They’re a big deal,' ” Jennifer James, a cheerleader, said.
The competition in Daytona Beach took place over the course of two days.
“The second day we went in not knowing if we would be first or second,” Adriana Walker, another cheerleader, said. “When they said they [the other team] were second, it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I couldn’t believe it.”
The victory announcement was filled with jumps, screams and a lot of happy tears.
“I was holding two of my friends’ hands, and I think I cut circulation off their hands because I heard second place get called, and I squeezed so hard,” James said. “I don’t think I’ve ever yelled or cried harder in my life.”
Bailey told 7 News that despite her 15 years of being a coach, it was hard to describe the emotions she felt when she finally was able to hold the winning trophy.
“I couldn’t put it into words,” she said. “I was just so proud.”
Two years ago, the team came in third place. Last year, the team came in second place.
“Coming into this year, we knew we had some unfinished business to handle,” Hailey Shani Griffin, a cheerleader, said.
Carleigh Kuebler, another cheerleader, agreed.
“Last year, it was more, ‘let’s see if we can do this.’ Where this year, we knew we could do it,” Kuebler said.
The team said their winning strategy was all about the power of mindset.
“The moment we got into Daytona, they had not a pompous or arrogance about them," Bailey said. "It was just the belief deep in their hearts that they were going to do it."
Once the team got their trophy, they ran (trophy in-hand) into the Atlantic ocean in their uniforms — a privilege reserved for winners.
“We finally got to run in the ocean,” Bailey said. “After all those years, after 12 years and the path that all those Niagara University cheerleaders laid before them.”
