Seaford cheer takes fourth consecutive title

On Sunday, Seaford’s varsity cheerleading team was in a familiar spot. The Lady Vikings were competing for a fourth consecutive Nassau County Division II Large School championship. After executing tirelessly practiced routines with numerous “super elite” stunts, Seaford took first place in its division, securing yet another county championship with the highest point total in the meet, 93.45.

“Heading in as three-time county champions, we knew we had a title to defend and we wanted a fourth,” said head coach Lisa Ferrari. “We wanted to make sure that was something we brought home for Seaford again.”

The Seaford squad set itself up for a repeat by sticking to a rigorous work ethic and a determination to add more high-scoring stunts. “Super elite” stunts, landed cleanly, earn the most points. Ferrari’s team has incorporated many of them into its routine.

“We had the highest score of the day, in any division, because of the difficulty of stunts, the presence we had and our tumbling,” she said. “We reworked the entire cheer and second half of the routine. We’re focused on scoring more.”

The program appears to be peaking at the right time. Last month, the team traveled to Orlando, Fla., for the Universal Cheerleaders Association national high school championship at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The Lady Vikings have qualified for the national tournament for the past eight years, and this year they finished fourth in the country. Their best previous finish was fifth.

Ferrari has seen lots of memorable routines, but she said she believed the Lady Vikings’ performance in the semifinals of this year’s national tournament might have topped them all. “That performance at nationals is by far most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in cheerleading,” she said excitedly, as if she were reliving the moment. “They scored the highest point total of the day in a national competition. Talk about such a proud coach’s moment. After they hit that routine, I was jumping up and down like a lunatic, and I knew right then and there it was one of those moments I’d never forget.”

After returning from Florida with renewed confidence, the girls focused on perfecting their routine, Ferrari said. Over the course of an average two-hour practice, they run through their entire routine three or four times. “We really focus on running these full-out routine practices as we prep for states,” she said.

Despite the Lady Vikings’ success in recent years at the county level, the state title has eluded them. In meets this season that count toward qualifying for states, the squad is undefeated — a winning streak that dates back to the 2016-17 season. After three consecutive trips to states, Seaford’s best result was in last year, when it finished third.

Mount Sinai High School, in Suffolk County, is the defending state champion. Ferrari and her girls are very familiar with the school and the squad’s routine, because they have competed against each other for the past three years at the state level.

“We competed against Mount Sinai at nationals this year, too,” Ferrari said. “The girls know their style and routine well by now . . . It starts to become real that the season will end, and we’re working as hard as we can toward the state title.”

Senior captains Jordan Gilbert, Maggie Brolly and Julia Galante have led the team for several years. Gilbert, a “flyer,” has been a part of the program since seventh grade, and has been a captain since her sophomore season. Ferrari lauded her ability and leadership, and said she hoped that Jordan’s younger sister, Megan, could replace some of her productivity after Jordan graduates.

Brolly excels as one of the “back spot” positions — the squad members responsible for calling the stunting count before a maneuver begins. Galante is a first-year captain, and Ferrari complimented her for being a vocal leader.

Losing valuable seniors is nothing new for Ferrari, however. In 2018, she lost 15.

But the focus now is on the state meet, according to Ferrari, and she believes her athletes have the firepower to bring Seaford its first state title. “We need to just do what we’ve been doing, and focus on our routine and executing that routine to the best of our ability,” she said. “They’re sharp, clean and they’re ready to perform. It’s all about the performance they give. If they do that, that’s all I can ask of them.”