42 | March 15, 2018 | The Homer Horizon SPORTS homerhorizon.com Former Homer Stallions cheerleader to cheer in national competition at Disney World Event to be held over three days this May Jacquelyn Schlabach Assistant Editor Mariana Miranda (far left) and her teammates on the Onyx team pose together for a photo. It’s a dream come true as a child to visit the happiest place on Earth. For some, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go as a part of one of 780 cheer teams from across the country to be invited to participate in a national competition. Former Homer Stallions cheerleader, 14-year-old Mariana Miranda, and current member of Dreamz Elite Competitive All-Star Cheerleading, is on one of two teams from Dreamz Elite invited to cheer at the D2 Summit Championship cheer competition at Walt Disney World May 11-13. Mariana is a member of the junior Level 2 Onyx team that received a bid in early December to attend the three-day summit. “The thought to perform in Disney is, like, overwhelming,” Miranda said. “You have multiple feelings — like you’re scared, you’re anxious, you’re nervous, but then it’s also exciting, because you’re in Florida to perform at Disney.” The competition exclusively features 780 teams from 46 states who have 125 athletes or less. Onyx has 11 athletes, and Dream Girls has nine, and girls range in age from 7 to 14. “We were all sitting on the gym floor, and [the company] posted a video of who won, and so we were all sitting there watching on the coach’s phone, and when our team name popped up, we all screamed and shouted,” Miranda said. Her mother, Berenice Landrove, a Homer Glen resident, and 11-year-old brother, Maui, will be joining Miranda on the trip to Disney. “I was at my sister’s house when I got the text message [that she was going to Disney], Landrove said. “I kind of screamed, and [my sister] was like, ‘What is going on, what is wrong?’ I was just really happy for my daughter. It was just really exciting.” The owner of Dreamz Elite, Kim Scherp, who is also the coach for Onyx, said the teams participating perform a two-and-a-half minute routine consisting of moves such as tumbling and stunting. Both Onyx and Dream Girls received at large bids, which means that half of the cost to attend is covered. The members of the teams and their parents have to raise the remaining $800. Not all teams make it to the second day of competition, but those who receive at large bids automatically advance. If a team receives a wildcard bid, they have to pay the $1,600 in full and compete the first day. “We love to win, of course; that’s why the parents pay the money and [the girls] get the training, but it’s more than that,” Scherp said. “It’s mostly about them growing and being able to do something that they have been working on really, really hard, and all of a sudden, they master it.” At the beginning of the season, Dreamz Elite had 20 athletes among all the teams, eventually growing to 50. “From starting with 20 kids in the program and getting a bid to the summit is really, really an accomplishment, Scherp said. The week prior to the D2 Summit is the D1 Summit, which consists of teams across the country that have more than 125 athletes. With a smaller gym, however, comes less advantages compared to a gym that has more athletes. “With a smaller gym, we have to drill skills harder, because you might not have the perfect athlete walk in the door — you train them to get to that point,” she said. Miranda has trained hard over the past few months to get to where she is now, but it didn’t start there. She’s been cheering since she was in third grade and also did Homer Stallions cheer last summer. At the end of the D2 Summit, a winner will of course be chosen, but just having the opportunity to attend and represent their team, win or lose, is something Miranda won’t ever forget. “It’s exciting and scary at the same time,” she said. RIGHT: Mariana Miranda is one of 11 girls on the Onyx team at Dreamz Elite Competitive All-Star Cheerleading that received a bid to compete at the D2 Summit in Disney World in May. Photos submitted
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