Panther Cheerleaders Positive

By John Earp

The Jal High School Cheer Team traveled to Lubbock for cheer camp this past weekend, from Saturday through Tuesday. At cheer camp, the team received the Power of Positivity Award. Odaliz Mendoza and Jaden Mendoza received the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) All-American Cheerleader Award. Isella Mendoza received the UCA Role Model Award. In addition to teams from across Texas, cheer teams from Portales, Artesia and Jal participated, with the Jal team being the smallest New Mexico team. According to Coach Katia Martinez, camp consisted of learning a new dance routine with a stunt incorporated into it, to see how fast the teams could learn it, and also fan dance and a sideline cheer and a regular cheer. Martinez said the camp is sort of like competition, but it wasn’t for like state competition. Instead, the camp was organized to get the cheerleaders all started going into the new school year. Eleven of the fifteen varsity cheerleaders from Jal were able to attend the camp. Members of the JHS Varsity Cheer Team that attended the camp in Lubbock this past weekend included Issela Mendoza, Elizabeth Lujan, Amyrra Stone, Ruby Gallegos, Yaraceli Juarez, Emory Melancon, Yahira Amaro, Janice Ramirez, Jaden Mendoza, Oraliz Mendoza, and Aulani Mendez. Martinez said, “I can say that the one thing that the girls, I wanted them to learn this year before we went to camp, was positivity, and that’s what they really carried throughout the whole camp, and that’s why they won that positivity award, because that’s how they carried themselves. They already came in knowing a lot, but I hope that whatever they got from camp they carry on to this season.”