News

Apr 20, 2023

Ceremony has familiar ring for Crushers cheer squad

Jun. 6—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Slipping a new band of gold on her left hand Monday,

Jun. 6—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Slipping a new band of gold on her left hand Monday, Bishop McCort cheerleader Malayna Boring had a championship ring for each finger.

But this one was special, Boring said as she celebrated alongside fellow varsity squad members in downtown Johnstown's Central Park.

"Coming back for my senior year, it meant so much to help lead the team to victory," she said.

The Bishop McCort senior was among 18 cheerleaders on the squad who joined Crimson Crusher coaches to receive rings for their national championship victory in February.

The team had another banner year, winning the PIAA Competitive Spirit Competition in Hershey before finishing first at nationals in the small school division in Orlando, Florida.

"We know how hard they worked for this," Coach John Walker said, moments before he and his staff called them up one by one to the Central Park Gazebo for their rings.

This marked the eighth straight District 6 title and sixth-ever national title for the Bishop McCort cheer program — one that was even more special after many on the team fell short a year earlier, parents said.

"We're so proud of them. To come back and win it all after losing in the preliminaries (in 2022), these girls had to work so very hard," said Corina Long, whose daughter, Rose, is among the squad's graduating seniors.

"It was such a phenomenal experience."