Cheer Excel Pro Open took home the first-place trophy in the open coed level six group Sunday evening in the first-ever NLCC (Nation?s Leading Cheerleading Companies) Final Destination at 1st Mariner Arena where teams from 27 different states competed in a variety of contests.
The Denver, Penn.-based team captured the title over a local team, Cheer Thunder Pro Open Coed Hurricanes, from Millersville, which placed second.
“This is our sixth year,” said Matthew Null, the coach of Excel. “It?s definitely monumental because you can definitely imagine where you?re going and you?ve been working for it all year. This is definitely our highlight of the year. There?s so many ?nationals? out there, but they don?t have the prestige that this one has. At least this one has more of a true national feel to it. The TV coverage and hype of this one really adds to it.”
Excel had concerns before it even took to the mat Sunday.
One of the team members broke his thumb during warm-ups but competed through the pain.
Once Excel?s routine began, the team knew it had one area of concern to avoid before it felt good about its performance.
“Our pyramid called the double-dutch where we swing the girls around, launch them up and are three people high,” Null said. “As soon as we know that goes, we?re home free; we?re golden.”
For Null, it was hard to control the emotions after collecting the victory hardware.
“You work all year for [a] two minutes and 30 seconds [routine], which goes by in a blink when you?re performing,” he said.
“It?s just an awesome experience. For some of us, this is going to be our very last competition ever, and it?s great to end on a good note.”
