Wantagh cheerleaders place fourth

The Wantagh High School cheerleading squad took fourth place in the Universal Cheerleading Association’s national competition on Feb. 7 and 8 at Disney World.

Wantagh qualified to go to Nationals by placing at the Empire Regional in December at Stony Brook University. A total of 48 teams from around the nation qualified for the UCA tournament, and the final round consisted of 18 teams. Wantagh’s high placement was the result of three perfect routines.

Sixteen girls from Wantagh along with Athletic Director Jennifer Keane and coaches Katie Savage and Jenna Schwartz made the trip to Orlando. The team was led by seniors Theresa Iaedevaio, Alyssa Sidoti and Alexa Federlin. Theresa Iaedevaio, who tore her ACL and had surgery in late October, was not able to compete, but Sidoti and Federlin made sure the team had a strong showing.

“We are thrilled that our seniors got to go out like this,” Savage said. “They are an amazing group of girls and they deserve nothing but the best. Our team had a lot of ups and downs this year, and they only got stronger through it all. We could not ask for anything more as coaches.”