The Watsonville Jr Wildcatz Junior Pee Wee cheer team for a third consecutive year won a JAMZ Cheer and Dance Youth Nationals championship in Las Vegas.
A group of 11 local girls ages 7-8 took first place against nine other teams in the Division 8–Level 1 Limited section by finishing the competition with zero deductions in front of hundreds of spectators at Orleans Arena on Jan. 31.
The ‘Catz cheer team includes Cynthia Blanco, Genesis Galeana, Janeya Zamora, Daniela Delgadillo, Adrianna Diaz, Luna Fernandez, Harmony Rito, Marvella Rito, Joelynn Tovar, Margaux Baron and two-time winner Krystabella Nuñez, a third grader at Minte White Elementary School.
“It felt really good out there,” Nuñez said. “There were different teams competing to get first place, and to get medals and jackets.”
Baron, a second grader at Landmark Elementary School, said she felt happy and excited when the public address announcer declared the ‘Catz as the winners for a third consecutive year.
“I was crying happily,” said Baron, who wore her JAMZ National Champion baby blue jacket and first place medal during team sign-ups at Straw Hat Pizza in Watsonville on Tuesday evening.
The ‘Catz Junior Pee Wee cheer team was led by a new group of head coaches in Veronica Leon and Natalie Guzman, along with Jr coach Aubrey Garcia—a junior at Watsonville High School.
“What made it special is because there were 11 girls, and nine were brand new,” Leon said. “They never cheered before, never did competition. They went in and they won the whole thing doing it for the first time ever.”
The ‘Catz competed in the JAMZ Adrenaline 2024 cheerleading competition at the Adventist Health Arena in Stockton on Dec. 7. They took third place and earned a bid to the Youth Nationals in Las Vegas.
During the Youth Nationals, the ‘Catz flawlessly nailed all of their stunts by not falling, budging, twitching or doing anything wrong to get points deducted from their score.
“It was a huge accomplishment,” Leon said. “It was emotional, at the same time. Watching the girls being up there and hitting every single move. It was definitely an emotional roller coaster, for sure.”
At the start of the ‘Catz’s Junior Pee Wee football season in August, the cheer team can get as high as 20 members. But that number goes down as the competition season comes into play in December.
“It’s different from sideline cheering for football,” Leon said. “This is gonna be more intense, but they pulled it off and made the effort, and put their sweat into it, which was amazing. It was definitely a journey for all of us.”
The coaching staff has the cheer team meet at the Fusion Kids Center in Hollister for four to five months prior to competitions to learn their choreography. From there, the girls practice four times per week for two hours with extra trips to Fusion.
“It’s very time consuming for them,” Leon said. “But, they do get it done. They know what we talked about in the beginning, what we expect out of them and how hard it’s going to be.”
Nuñez said her favorite part about being part of the ‘Catz Junior Pee Wee cheer team is getting those chances to compete in Las Vegas whether they get first place or not.
“We still get placed, so it doesn’t matter,” she said.
