The Gloucester Cheerleading team is all smiles after winning first place at Nationals this past weekend in Orlando, Florida.

“We are all so excited about the win, especially the seniors,” said senior captain Grace Brancaleone. “We’ve had upwards of eight seasons together so leaving our team with this big of a win is an amazing feeling for us!”

The team placed second at Nationals in 2016, and dealt with several injuries in the days leading up to this year’s competition.

“We didn’t get to do the full routine until the day we left because of injuries so we had to practice really hard when we got to Florida to make sure everything worked before competition,” said Brancaleone. “We had great energy both days and were ready to go as soon as we got there which helped us get through the routine easier.”

Despite this setback and a different scoring system than what the team is used to seeing, Gloucester managed to top seven other teams from around the country, including the second place team from Coronado High School in El Paso, Texas.

“Overall the competition is very different than it generally is in Massachusetts,” said Brancaleone. “At a national competition they score on an all-star score sheet so we had to add a few new elements into our routine between the last competition and Nationals. You also compete two days for a combined 50/50 score rather than just one day in Massachusetts.”

The team now looks to maintain their title with bright eyes and will work hard to prepare for the 2017-2018 seasons in the upcoming months.