The hours of training and health challenges by Coach Crump paid off during the competition at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where more than 100 colleges competed in cheer and dance.
Memphis cheer placed first in the Universal Cheerleaders Association’s championship, and pom placed third in the Universal Dance Association’s hip-hop division.
Memphis cheer placed tenth last year in the small coed division but improved this year, taking home the first place trophy.
Cheer members said they practiced around 56 hours a week as they were training for nationals.
“It’s really hard,” sophomore Kayla Cunningham said. “This year was different than any other year, we trained a lot harder.”
Cheer members were assigned a personalized healthy weight to maintain by their coach, Tony Crump, to help the members’ overall performance.
“He knows every single person’s strengths and weaknesses,” junior Brooke Deason said. “(Crump) sees us every single day in the gym, and he leads our workouts.”
“He brings it out of you,” freshman Levi Evans said. “He catches you slacking, he’s going to call you out. You’re going to give 110 percent.”
The cheer team was able to perform all their routines and stunts in their first place finish.
“In our routine, our first pyramid was very difficult,” Deason said. “Once we hit our first pyramid, we knew we had it in the bag.”
“The intermediate is right after the cheer,” Levi Evans said. “You’re screaming and you’re out of breath, you have got to throw this intermediate stunt and it’s a pain in the ass,” Evans said.
Cunningham, Deason and Evans said that the team’s communication and drive to push one another to their full potential were the keys to their success.
“Normally I get back from nationals and am done,” Deason said. “This year, within a week, we all were wanting to come back.”
Memphis pom is one the best dance teams in the country. They competed in Universal Dance Association’s competition every year. They have 14 national championships and have placed in the top five consistently.
The team started learning their routines in late September and began preparing in late November.
“For about two months, we practice everyday for about six hours,” senior captain Madison Williams said. “We also have morning workouts and a meal plan to follow. Being on such a competitive team is extremely tough, but our team is amazing and the girls make it totally worth it.”
“The training that goes into a two-minute routine seems silly to people that have never been involved in competitive dance,” senior captain Bailey McMahan said. “While everyone else is on Christmas break, we are in the gym for hours at a time perfecting our every move.”
After learning that they placed third in the hip-hop competition, the pom squad was shocked that they did not finish higher.
“That’s the beauty of being Memphis,” McMahan said. “We can reach for the stars and feel confident enough to win.”
“We may not have won, but we did continue to put Memphis on the map as a top contender for hip-hop,” McMahan said.
The cheer team poses with their trophy and medal at the ESPN complex in Orlando, Florida. This win marks their fifth national championship win.
Memphis’ pom squad does their routine on stage on their way to a third place finish. The pom squad has 14 national championships along with many top five finishes.
