If you’ve ever come out to support the Oswego State men’s basketball team, you’ve seen them. They’re the tumbling, stunting, tossing, talented group of girls who take to the waxed gymnasium floor for each game. They’re the Oswego State cheerleaders.
Sporting their green, gold and black uniforms, the girls have been cheering their hearts out and making their presence known around campus. While the men’s ice hockey and basketball teams have been dribbling and skating their way into NCAA Division III championship games, although eliminated in both, the Oswego State cheerleaders are creating a launching pad for their own athletic achievements.
After submitting a 2.5 minute video, showcasing the required tumbling, basket tosses, partner stunts, pyramids and a cheer, all of their season-long training and hard work had finally paid off, says Sara Balaban, a senior and president of the cheerleading team.
“In my last year on the team, I can proudly say that we have pushed ourselves since August,” says Balaban. “While practicing multiple times a week, we are fundraising at least twice a week and cheering at basketball games two to three times a week as well.”
This year, the girls are getting ready to pack their bags and head down to Daytona Beach, Fla., where they will be competing in a national competition in April. The team has competed at the national level before, but their previous competitions were not frequently publicized, nor were they as challenging as the competition in Daytona Beach.
But not only are these girls spunky and super talented, they’re hardworking and involved in the Oswego community as well.
As many Oswego State students may have noticed around campus or on Facebook, the cheerleaders have been partaking in what Balaban calls “non-stop fundraising” since their season began in August.
“My favorite fundraiser was probably the car washes,” says Balaban. “It was a fun and easy way to raise money and spend time with my team while giving back to the Oswego community.”
From the all-American car washes and Yankee Candle fundraisers to functions held at Alley Cat downtown, the team has raised approximately $9,500. Although their original goal was to raise $20,000, the team has raised enough to pay for their expenses for the trip down to Florida in April.
Currently coached by Thomas Foley, the girls have gone through three coaches in the past four years, but judging by their successes and their talent, you wouldn’t know.
Although some of the girls will find attending nationals this year a bittersweet moment in their college careers due to the quickly-approaching May graduation, seniors like Balaban find they can carry memories from this last year of cheer post-grad.
“I couldn’t be more proud to be finishing my last year of Oswego State cheerleading with such a talented and motivated team,” says Balaban. “As sad as I will be ending my college cheerleading career, I am happy to say that this group of girls made every bit of this year memorable.”
Nationals will be held April 7-8 in Daytona Beach, Fla., where the girls will put their season’s hard work and efforts to the final test and hopefully return with sun-kissed tans and a glistening trophy, adding another victory to the list of athletic achievements that Oswego State has become so proud of.