March, 2024
By Maria Arredondo and Brisa Gomez, Staff Reporters
On March 23, 2024, KAC Cardinal cheerleaders attended the Honor Charter Athletics League competition in Rice University where they competed against 7 other talented cheerleading teams.
According to Coach Santiago, the team went in with the goal to place however, to their surprise, their hard work, undeniable talent and well displayed choreography got them to first place. “I think our goal this year was to place, even a third place would have been amazing for us. We understand that everybody starts at the bottom and we were like we just want to be on that podium no matter what. We did not expect to become champs this year. But it happened and it goes to show that hard work will always pay off.”
This is the first time KAC has a program like this for cheer, so the girls and Santiago had to work extra hard to ensure they were ready for the competition. Santiago tells us they looked for gyms in the Austin area where they could practice and hired tumbling coaches to help them with their routines as well as staying after school. When looking back at their first competition of the year Santiago shared with us that her team improved in so many ways, “ their skills are so much more developed than last time, but i would say the biggest improvement is their mindset, this all comes down to your mindset, and how you envision yourself.” This is how they were able to go from not even placing in their first competition to winning first place on their final one.
Having senior founder cheerleaders that have been in the program since the beginning meant they got to be a part of the journey of seeing this team win first place and make KAC history. “A lot of them saw everything from the beginning and it’s so rewarding that they got to leave champions, it’s so emotional and humbling to be a part of this experience” says Coach Santiago.
All that is left for the cheer team moving forward is to continue working hard and putting in the dedication necessary as Santiago believes there’s still so much that they can still accomplish.
Coach Santiago would like to leave a message to students trying out for next year “ If you want to join, come and try out, challenge yourself and I will challenge you and yeah come be part of the family because that’s what we are, family.” And to her current 23-24 team “to my girls, you did everything you needed to do, you put in the blood, the sweat and the tears and this is just the beginning.”
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