Go team! Three cheers
for the cheerleaders

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

The Father Judge High School cheerleaders can’t score a touchdown, make a basket or pin an opponent, but they believe they play a major role at football and basketball games and wrestling matches.
"We add excitement to the crowd," said Gina Leotta, a senior who attends St. Hubert.
Cheering for sports teams at the all-boys school is just one part of the cheerleading squad’s season.
When they’re not cheering on the Crusaders, the girls are participating in high-level competitions.
Over the last month, the Father Judge cheerleaders have shined at two major competitions.
In February, the girls placed fifth among 40 teams at the National High School Cheerleading Championships in Orlando. And on Sunday, they beat out Archbishop Carroll, Bishop Shanahan and runner-up Archbishop Ryan to capture the All Catholic Cheer Competition in the Varsity-Super Large division.
The cheerleaders practice four times a week, 10 months out of the year, to perfect their two-and-a-half-minute routine.
"We work so hard for that one moment," said Jen McCaffrey, a senior at St. Hubert. "It’s all we work for."
The 30-member team is made up of girls from St. Hubert, Nazareth Academy and St. Basil. Its annual budget is $35,000, which pays for uniforms, competition fees and travel.
The biggest expenditure is the trip to Walt Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex for nationals. To raise the money, the team held a grade school competition, hosted a clinic for young girls, sold ads for the Father Judge sports booklet and ran a lottery.
Still, the national competition doesn’t take all comers. Teams have to earn their spot. Judge advanced after a regional qualifier in December at Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin, N.J.
In Orlando, the judges liked what they saw in the semifinal round and voted Father Judge into the finals. There, the girls finished in fifth place.
"We were so happy. You can’t even describe it," said Cait Dougherty, a St. Hubert senior.
In April, the team will hold tryouts for the 2008-09 season. The coaches are Lisa McNesby, Siobhan Latta, Paul Ballentine and Kelly Macartney.
Besides cheering for the football team in the fall and the basketball and wrestling teams in the winter, the girls took part in seven competitions this season.
Team members dress in the Father Judge red and blue uniforms, sweat socks and hair ribbons. All of the action takes place on a 54-foot by 42-foot mat.
The girls clap their hands, wave signs and oversized foam gloves, shake pom-poms, lift one another and perform a variety of jumps and tumbles, all to musical accompaniment. They chant "Let’s go big blue" and "FJHS" and spell out C-R-U-S-A-D-E-R-S.
The team attempts to perfect what it learns in practice, but also tries to outperform the other squads.
"I like the competition," said Kristine Lemongelli, a St. Hubert senior who will try out for Penn State’s cheerleading team.
For Lemongelli and the others, there is hope to continue their cheerleading careers beyond high school.
Four former Father Judge cheerleaders are on college teams. They are Lauren Fong (Maryland), Renee Carelli (Penn State), Terrie Casper (Temple) and Kimmy Bennis (St. John’s). Fong earned a 25-percent scholarship for her talents.
There was a fun, big-game college atmosphere on Sunday at a packed gymnasium at Penn State-Abington. Catholic schools from all over southeastern Pennsylvania competed in the all-around and dance categories. One member from each team wore a pink shirt for special judging for scholarship money. For Judge, that was Erin Clancy.
Father Judge was joined by teams from Archbishop Ryan, St. Hubert, Nazareth Academy, Cardinal Dougherty and Little Flower, which won the Varsity-Medium division. Ryan won the junior varsity championship.
"Cheerleading is growing," said McNesby, the Father Judge coach. "It’s mostly dominated by Southern schools, but a lot of Pennsylvania teams went to nationals."
McNesby, who has coached for eight years, prefers girls with a gymnastics background and a good work ethic.
"We look for athletic girls, and they have to be dedicated," she said.
"It helps to have enthusiasm and personality," added Latta, one of the other coaches.
Latta believes the sport is attracting a lot of talented girls.
"Cheerleading has come a long way," she said. "It’s gotten more athletic over the years."
One of the rewards for the best cheerleading teams in the country is to appear on the highlights show on ESPN and ESPN 2. The Father Judge cheerleaders made the cut because of their outstanding performance in Orlando.
"It’s hard to go down there and hit your routine," McNesby said. "We put a lot of difficulty into our routine, and the girls hit it in the semifinals and final." ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com