The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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16 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK This fall when tens of thousands of NC State fans fill Carter-Finley Stadium for football games and PNC Arena for bas- ketball contests, they will be entertained by Wolfpack cheerleading. Little do those fans know how much work those cheerleaders are putting in, or perhaps even how good they are at their craft. A cheerleading calendar is a full year, starting with tryouts in May, followed by preparations during the summer to earn a bid to Nationals in August, cheer- ing at Wolfpack athletic events from fall through spring and culminating with a two-minute, 15-second routine at Nation- als in Daytona Beach, Fla., in April. This past April, NC State (which made the switch to small coed this past year that involves four males on the squad and a group stunt of three holding one cheerleader) went to Daytona Beach with an aura of self-confidence not seen much in recent years. "The coaches were walking out front where we watch, this year we left them behind the stage just knowing that they were ready and were going to do an amazing job," said head coach Harold Trammel, a former NCSU cheerleader himself who returned to coach the pro- gram in 2002-03. "That's a great feeling as a coach." Senior Mikayla Raleigh noted that af- ter being in second place following day one of Nationals, NC State knew what was left to do. "You have to make a statement when you go on the mat and show everybody you want it," Raleigh said. "You have to tell the judges, 'Choose me.'" That's what the judges did; NC State edged Texas-San Antonio and peren- nial national power Louisville — whom Trammel joked is the Yankees of college cheerleading — to win the national title, the fifth in program history and first since 2001. "It seemed so long before they an- nounced second place which meant we knew we won," senior Kaylee Smith re- membered. "It was a very emotional time. Those are words you are never going to forget." It was the culmination of untold hours of labor and work put into the craft. Each cheerleader must find their own way to balance the time it takes perfecting their skills with the other demands placed on them, chiefly academics. Trammel noted this past year was the best ever for the team's cumulative grade point average, with at least six cheerleaders getting a 4.0 or better. It is not uncommon for cheerlead- ers to donate up to 20 hours a week to their sport between practice and lifting weights. They also have their responsibil- ities to football games (which is typically an eight-hour day) and hoops contests as well as other university functions. For Raleigh, who was elected Leader of the Pack in 2015, she leaned on her days running cross country and cheering in high school while also being student body council president. Yet it took her until her sophomore year to figure out a routine. Smith, a textile engineering major, gets by with the help of a buddy system to help hold her accountable for her school- work, joining with teammates after prac- tice at the library to get studying done. Senior Daniel Smith said the key for him is to remind himself free time is when you get your work done. "Not make it free time that you use to go home and watch Netflix or eat another meal," he noted. "You have to set those boundaries for yourself." Each cheerleader must also find that motivation to make themselves better. Senior Brandon Parker uses his competi- tive fire, for instance. "It's one of those sports where new stuff is always happening," Parker noted. "There is never a ceiling to how good you can be. You always want to get better because you think you are there and get around other people and get humbled." Parker added he wanted to be the one that other cheerleaders looked up to, and this past spring he was part of a team that accomplished just that, thanks to hard work and dedication. That fact was not lost in Trammel's mind when he heard that Texas-San Anto- nio was second at Nationals, thus making it clear that NC State had won. "It's excitement for the kids because we work them hard," Trammel said. "They practice a lot and do everything the right way." — Matt Carter Getting To Know: NC State Cheerleaders NC State's cheerleaders won the national title for small coed in 2016. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS