By JACQUELINE LOH
Sports Editor
The UHS cheer squad competed against numerous teams in the Orange Country area such as Northwood, Santa Margarita, and Tustin High School this past weekend, Varsity song placed first in the USA Regionals Cheer Competition, while JV and Freshman Song placed second and Varsity cheer placed third. 
“Our goal for this competition was to qualify for nationals in March where we compete at Anaheim Convention Center,” said Captain Serena Wu (Sr.). “[This] is our biggest competition of the year.” Each team has to attend at least one regional competition to be eligible for the national competition. All squads qualified for the nationals, which will take place from March 24 to 26.
Varsity song has worked especially hard this past summer in preparation for the regional competition. “We have been working on our technique so we could incorporate more difficult elements into our routine,” said Anya Hwang (Jr.), one of Varsity Song’s members. “[After football season] we would work on our routine every day after school, learning and running it.”
“I’m really proud of the amount of effort and time our whole team put in to make this routine the best we could,” said Jasmine Lee (Sr.).
The cheer squad saw many new members this year. For example, Devin Jones (So.) joined Varsity Cheer. “Everyone is really proud of how hard she is working,” said Lee.
In anticipation for the upcoming competition, the squad aims to put in countless hours of practice to perfect their routines. “I believe that we can improve immensely by getting our confidence up as a team,” said Kadi Tran (Jr.). Tran also emphasized having fun with the routine as a factor in performing well.
“Sometimes it is exhausting,” said Hwang, “but coming in first on Sunday really proved that the hard work payed off.”
“We hope to do ever better in the next competition than this one,” said Lee. “There’s always room for improvement.”
Their next competition will be the USA Spirit Regionals Competition at Tustin High School.