WORLD CLASS: Cheer squad ready for World Championships

WASILLA — An entire high school football season may come down to 48 minutes. A basketball squad’s fate might be decided in 32 minutes.

But in cheerleading, 2 minutes and 30 seconds separates the best from the rest.

Later this month, a local cheerleading all-star team will aim to put together its best 2 minutes and 30 seconds on the sport’s biggest stage. The Wasilla-based Denali All-Stars will make another appearance at the World Cheerleading Championships in Orlando. Fla.

“It’s such a fickle sport. You have one shot. You don’t get to reset and try it again,” Denali’s longtime head coach Leon Reynolds said. “In football if you have that bad play, you line it back up. We don’t get that opportunity.”

Reynolds said the 31 members of his co-ed cheerleading team, which features athletes ages 12 to 18, have worked year-round for the upcoming opportunity.

“There’s one chance to do everything you’ve been working on for the whole year and fit it into 2-and-a-half minutes,” Reynolds said. “That 2-and-a-half minutes has to be flawless.”

Denali has taken a string of squads to Orlando, qualifying for the World Championships at nationals.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to make it five years,” Reynolds said.

The current squad includes only eight members who have never been to the world championships. Last year, Denali finished eighth out of 70 squads in its division.

A veteran of that team, 16-year-old Jason Leonard, believes in the potential of the current squad.

“Our team is just as good, if not better, than last year,” Leonard said during the team’s practice Monday evening.

Aleah Lazar, an 18-year-old Wasilla High senior, has made every trip to the World Championships during Denali’s recent run.

“It’s really intense, knowing that everything matters,” Lazar said.

Lazar said it takes time to adjust to competing in front of the enormous crowd against the best squads from across the country.

“It’s really nerve-racking. The lights, you get there and it’s so bright. You don’t expect it, but you get used to it,” Lazar said.

Miriah Simons, 12, is in only her second year and will be making her first trip to the World Championships. She followed her sister into the sport, and has found her place.

“It’s really fun,” Simons said.

Leonard said there is pressure once the team hits the stage for the competition, but he focuses on the team.

“It’s one of those things, you can’t go out there and think just about you,” Leonard said. “It’s the whole team.”

Leonard said it’s the family atmosphere of the program that stands out.

“A close friend cheered with me on the same team and moved to Seattle. The biggest thing he said is it’s not really a family there. People are coming and going like nothing,” Leonard said. “We’re not just a bunch of people who go to the gym and tumble together. We’re definitely a family.”

Reynolds has seen plenty of talent come into his gym, but feels there’s something special with this group. What separates this squad, he said, is the strength in all of the categories the team will be judged in.

“They’re just solid everywhere,” Reynolds said. “They’re truly a well-rounded team. They can do everything.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.