First time’s the cheer: Redondo Union High’s competition cheer team wins national championships

Two consecutive weekends, two national titles

 

by Garth Meyer

In their first year of competition, the Redondo Union High School cheer team has won two national titles.

The 23-member squad took first at the UCA (Universal Cheerleading Association) National High School Cheerleading Championships, held in Orlando February 9-12.

The next weekend, they won a second title at the USA Spirit national finals, in Anaheim.

“This is very, very rare, for a first-year team to take a national championship, I would say, a Cinderella story,” said Anthony Bridi, Redondo Union principal.

Nearly 25,000 high school cheerleaders from 34 states competed in Florida.

Redondo went up against 28 teams in the Large Varsity Non-Tumbling Game Day Division. 

The routines consisted of four, three-minute sections: Band Chant (signs, flags and stunting-lifts); Situational (squads are given a sudden development to respond to, such as their football team has fumbled and lost possession of the ball – calling for a defense cheer); Crowd Leading; and Fight Song.

In the end, Orlando announcers counted down the top placers, leaving one name left.

The RUHS squad formed only four months before.

“It was such an amazing and very surreal moment,” said sophomore Camren Smith, of winning at nationals. “We had very, very little time to prepare. I felt as if we were starting from scratch.”

“It was also special because we didn’t have a ‘brand’ in prior years, and it solidified us a spot as athletes at the school,” said sophomore Ava Anzizino.

Team members included freshman, sophomores, juniors and just three seniors.

“A mix of cheer athletes from all grades,” Principal Bridi said. “When I say a Cinderella story, this is truly one of a kind. There are teams that compete for years to get to this level.”

RUHS is coached by the mother-daughter combination of Lisa Hedspeth and Izzy Cruz.

Hedspeth is also the Activities Director at Redondo Union. Cruz is the cheer team’s choreographer.

“Our mantra this year was, ‘Why not us?’ That was our hashtag,” Hedspeth said.

The group assembled in the late summer, after a series of three-hour practices, four days per week to decide the Sea Hawks’ sideline squad. After school began, the additional competitive cheer group practiced two days per week. 

“We started in September with a skeleton of the routine,” Hedspeth said. 

The fight song they used in competition was from the University of Minnesota. (The majority of competitive cheer teams do not use their own schools’ fight songs).

“Coach Izzy had to choreograph every beat,” Hedspeth said. “We didn’t have a gimmick.”

In Orlando, teams would perform one day, followed by a day to incorporate feedback from judges, hoping to advance after their next performance. Many schools were advised to add choreography along the way; for RUHS, judges’ input was about perfecting what they already had.

At the hotel each night, Hedspeth and Cruz stayed up late reviewing the day’s video. 

“My daughter is meticulous with the judging sheet,” Hedspeth said.

The process to qualify for nationals began last October at the Southern California regionals, held at Mira Costa High School. 

It was Redondo’s first time competing, and they qualified for nationals right then. RUHS continued on with competitions and showcases from November through January – during football season a few Saturday events followed a Friday game.

The West Coast Championships were held in Irvine in December.

“It took a lot of practice and a lot of repetition,” Smith said. “After every weekend competition, we went through each frame (of video) to pinpoint each motion on each count.”

Hedspeth and Cruz came to RUHS this school year from Villa Park High School in Orange County, where they led teams to seven national titles.

At Villa Park, they worked with current RUHS Athletic Director Andy Saltsman, who left Redondo Beach for Villa Park in 2020. After he returned, he hired Hedspeth and Cruz.

“Andy is extremely supportive of the sport of cheer, and that is truly a rarity with ADs,” Hedspeth said. “When the opportunity came up for my daughter and I to take over the program at RUHS, we were so excited to work alongside him again.”

The Redondo Union kids were sized for championship rings by Jostens last week.

Next year they may take part in more competitions.

“We are excited to continue competing in Game Day Cheer and also hoping to add a Traditional Competitive Cheer Team, which will have tumbling,” Hedspeth said. 

The National High School Cheerleading Championships began in 1982, and has grown to become the biggest cheer competition in the world, held at Orlando’s ESPN/Wide World of Sports complex.

“I wish that I could relive it again,” said senior Iris Reyes. ER