Town Applauds Cheerleaders' Spirit

There was something to cheer about at Tuesday’s Township Committee meeting.

While there was applause for the , which reduced spending by $1.6 million and the decision to table a zoning change on the Montgomery border (story coming Friday), the biggest applause came for the competition cheerleaders.

The 13 students on the squad and their coaches were presented with a proclamation by the in recognition of the team's accomplishments, including an appearance in February at the at Disney World in Orlando, Fla. Hillsborough was one of the approximately 60 teams nationwide to compete for the national title.

Members of the squad are Katie Brownlie, Kaitlyn Gahrmann, Lyndsey Gatzemeyer, Morgan Gatzemeyer, Casey Gerber, Samantha Goldstein, Sierra Harris, Alexa Hudak, Keisha Kauffman, Stefani Levonaitis, Juilianna Livelli, Jessica McGuire and Christina Polesky. Jessica Fedroff is the head coach and Taryn Weil is the assistant coach.

The cheerleaders, who have been practicing six days a week since August, earned a trip to the national championship through their standout performances throughout the year.

The squad placed first at the Pocono Regional Competition and at the Universal Cheerleading Association Regional Division.

The proclamation, presented by Mayor Carl Suraci to the squad, cites the Raiders “not only for their victory, but for their hard work, dedication and commitment to the sport and to those principals of good sportsmanship, teamwork and academic achievement.”