Riding the wave of a strong performance in last year’s state spirit championships, the Española Valley cheerleading team is looking forward to taking that next step to possibly bringing home a trophy.
The Sundevils jumped up to sixth place in the Class 4A standings, but their Game Day routine had them sitting in third.
“That was something I was really excited about,” coach Tatiana Quintana said of the Game Day performance. “At the end of the session, we ended up jumping six places than what we did the year before, so that was something we’re excited about, as well.”
And now the Sundevils bring back 11 seniors and seven juniors to the 25-member varsity squad.
“We’re really excited with what we have this season,” Quintana said.
She has slowly built up the program to where it not only has a stacked varsity group, but also a thriving junior-varsity team, as well.
“We’re building the program to the point where we have pretty good numbers on our JV team,” she said. “We haven’t had a full season of JV since I’ve coached here the past seven years.”
Suffice it to say, expectations are high for Española, she said.
“With the amount of returners and the amount of experience we have, that will help us and support us in our journey,” Quintana said.
The seniors, Ashley Zavala, Mayrin Cuevas, Jessie Trujillo, Aurelianna Gonzales, Brian Archuleta, Daniel Purdy, Amber Martinez, Kiara Salinas Ontiveros, Jordan Martinez, Skyy Medina and Estrella Baca, are able leaders on a veteran squad.
“I think just a lot of our success is because of consistency and communication,” Quintana said. “That’s been the biggest thing. Numbers have always been something we have pushed for, but it’s never really been about what the kids can do or cannot do in terms of the sport. It’s about giving the kids a chance to put the work in and show their dedication and their commitment because our season is the longest season of any other sport.”
That sometimes means losing athletes to other sports, she said, and that’s OK.
“It’s always about giving them the opportunity,” Quintana said.
This season’s group is in it for the long haul, Gonzales said.
“This season, we just have these goals,” she said. “I think our goals are to do our best on the mat and stay as positive as possible and show what Española is all about.”
And that means putting on a show, not just at the championships, but also with every public performance, Gonzales said.
“We’ve definitely been building up and improving,” she said. “We’re building a stronger team. It’s definitely been different since my freshman year. It’s kind of sad that we’re leaving this amazing team behind pretty soon, but I’m so glad I’ve been a part of the experience for what’s about to be four years.”
It’s a long commitment and Quintana said she appreciates all of the athletes who participate.
“It’s a lot of hard work,” she said. “During football season, we’re out there five or six times a week practicing, then there are the games, so they have to balance both boys and girl basketball. So we’re using those opportunities to practice our skills and stunts. It’s a lot of time and dedication that we expect from these athletes, for sure.”
In the end, however, it’s all worth it, Gonzales said.
“We practice almost every single day and games in between and so it can be tiring, but we all have fun with it,” she said. “And all our coaches really do a good job to see what works for us and what’s best for us. I think my favorite part is the bonds with people that you wouldn’t expect to make with somebody.”