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Vinegar Hill Cheerleaders Finish 6th at Nationals After Raising $20K

By Alexandra Leon | February 14, 2017 5:33pm
 Local cheerleading team The Diamonds made it to the National High School Cheerleading Championship in Florida after raising more than $20,000 through a GoFundMe campaign.
Local cheerleading team The Diamonds made it to the National High School Cheerleading Championship in Florida after raising more than $20,000 through a GoFundMe campaign.
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Tracy Wilkins-Dickerson

VINEGAR HILL — After raising more than $20,000 to compete at this year’s National High School Cheerleading Championship in Florida, a squad of Vinegar Hill students didn't disappoint on the big stage.

The Diamonds, the varsity team at Vinegar Hill’s P.S. 307, came in sixth place out of 32 teams in the junior high division this past weekend in Orlando, Florida. 

While some of the cheerleaders were initially disappointed by the results, team coach Tracy Wilkins-Dickerson said the competition was a huge success for the girls, who went to nationals for the first time in the program's 22-year history after winning first place at a regional contest. 

“They came in sixth place thinking we lost, and I said, ‘You have no idea,’” Wilkins-Dickerson explained. “Just making it to the finals, that was big.”

The girls, who range in age from 8 to 14, were intimidated at first by their competitors, but they came back strong during their second performance after breezing through the preliminary round, she noted.

“They were definitely all in tears and screaming,” the coach said. “It was unreal. We were all on a high.”

The 17-member team was able to make it to Florida after successfully raising $23,223 as part of an online fundraising campaign — more than $3,000 over the team’s original goal. 

Wilkins-Dickerson said the team was able to pay for flights, hotel rooms, meals and other expenses for its members, as well as save $5,000 toward next year’s competition. 

“It’s our goal now to go to the nationals every year,” the coach said.

The James Monroe Eagles, a junior varsity team at the James Monroe Educational Campus in The Bronx, also competed last weekend, placing seventh in their division

For The Diamonds, the next big competition will be this year’s Cheerfest at Six Flags in New Jersey on May 13. The team will also be performing at the Jordan Brand Classic at the Barclays Center on April 14.