Just recently, the Niles West Cheer Team competed at sectionals at Rolling Meadows High School receiving fifth place out of the ten teams competing and qualifying for state. The state competition will take place in Bloomington in the Grossinger Motors Arena.

This season the Wolves have been full of accomplishments, this one being their biggest yet.

Sectionals and conferences brought an amazing new experience, though it was stressful at times, the team always had fun at the competitions. Being together while surrounding themselves with some of the best teams in the state will be an exciting new experience for these athletes.

Happiness spread through the room as the Wolves were announced as fifth place. The energy and excitement were like no other, a pure moment. “It was an amazing feeling for our name to be called in the top 5 that would qualify for state. It was something I haven’t experienced before being in this program, but I feel it was well deserved by both the athletes and the coaches,” junior Lindsey Ongyaco said.

There have been several changes and challenges for all sports teams this year with the ongoing pandemic, but these athletes have proven that they are unstoppable and have put in an incredible amount of hard work this season.

“Due to COVID, we faced many challenges, but because of our perseverance to make it to state; we sacrificed many things just to stay safe,” Ongyaco said.”With these challenges, we had to work harder and push through the obstacles to get to where we are now. I will always admire everyone on the team’s integrity and work ethic.”

Sophomore Maddy Chazen also expresses the obstacles the cheerleaders had to face this season. “There have been a lot of challenges with injuries and COVID, but we are super excited, happy, and honored about making it to state.”

This year’s team is the first in Niles West history to qualify for the IHSA State Competition.

“It felt amazing to know that our coaches last year could be celebrated at state and to know that we’re the first cheer team at Niles West to qualify,” Chazen said.

As for Ongyaco, appreciating the journey is something she hopes will come from this trip.

“For state, I simply hope that everyone enjoys the experience and that we have a great competition,” Ongyaco said.

With that being said, let’s wish the best of luck to the Wolves as they step on the mat in Bloomington!