Bethlehem Catholic’s cheerleaders competed in the District XI Class 2A Competitive Spirit Championships on Jan. 4 at Easton Area Middle School where they took second place in the small division, earning them a berth in the PIAA state competition later this month.

“We’ve been struggling a lot with confidence, and today they fought with confidence, and that’s what made the difference,” said Becahi first-year head cheerleading coach Bradley Kim.

“We had changed a lot of things this morning, actually. This morning was our only full-team practice during break, so I think it was more nerve-racking, only because they didn’t know where they were going to end up,” Coach Kim said. “I think they were very happy with the outcome.”

Becahi’s silver medalists include Chloe Campbell, Juliana DeLuzio, Elaina Lembach, Raegan Miltenberger, Louisa Robinson, Marissa Simmons, Breanna Bucci, Leyla Roof, Emerita Ortiz, Emerson McIntyre, Karina Beauchamp, and Giada Sena.

“I was nervous, but honestly, I was excited with whatever we got,” said McIntyre, a junior. “Our beginning stunt is a tossup to extension and then we rewind down from that, and then we go to our first set of jumps, and then we move on to our second set of jumps, and then our elite stunts. We move into our cheer, and then our two-stunt. Lastly, we go to our pyramid and to our dance. Since we learned a whole, new routine, I’m excited to keep doing it.”

Lehighton placed first and Pen Argyl came in third. Saucon Valley, Lincoln Leadership, and Northern Lehigh also competed in the Class 2A small division.