After placing second to West Genesee last fall, Cicero-North Syracuse cheerleading retook the top spot in Class A at the annual Scarefest Gameday Cheer competition on Saturday at North Syracuse Junior High School.
"Definitely felt really good to bring it home when you're on your home turf," Northstars coach Sierra Colombini said.
C-NS claimed Class A with 84.6 points, Carthage won Class B with 72.7, Mexico won Class C-1 with 79.7, Mount Markham won Class C-2 with 61.45, C-NS won JV with 71.4 and General Brown won modified with 51.4. Chittenango, West Genesee, Liverpool and Christian Brothers Academy were also among the standout performances of the day.
Last year's annual Scarefest was the first in the gameday division and no one was quite sure what to expect. New York introduced gameday cheer championships in the fall of 2023. Competitive cheer championships have been held in the winter since 2016.
To prepare for last fall, C-NS made a PowerPoint called "What the Heck is Gameday" to help people understand the new style. But even then, there was a learning curve in year one.
"It being such a new style ... it was intimidating," Colombini said. "Not only to the athletes but also to the coaches. There was so much to learn."
In the year since, athletes and coaches alike have gotten more familiar with the new style, which prioritizes execution and synchronicity, not difficulty. As they progressed in training for the sideline-style skills, the C-NS squad adapted and then adapted some more.
"Even that breakdown, looking back a year ago, there was still so much you just learn along the way," Colombini said. "There was so much I couldn't have even imagined putting in that PowerPoint to grasp this new style.
"It's not about who can do the best backflips, it's about who can do the best motions and motion placement, and who can hold their face like this is the easiest thing ever, even though they're dancing and screaming for three and a half minutes."
Saturday's competition wrapped up the regular season.
Cicero-North Syracuse, West Genesee and many other teams will face off for sectional titles at the Section III Gameday Cheer championships on Nov. 2 at Indian River High School.
Last year, West Genesee won Class A, Whitesboro won Class B, Hannibal won Class C-1 and Oriskany won Class C-2.
The state championships are on Nov. 10 at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.
