By splitting the original team into two separate squads Song/Pom and Cheer, including varsity and junior varsity (JV), the cheerleading squad has made significant changes and is on the road to success. "This is the first year Gunn has had a JV cheerleading squad in a while and they'll be cheering at JV games as well," head coach Faith Hilal said.

Starting fresh over the summer, the entire squad attended a four-day, overnight cheer camp at University of California, Santa Cruz. Teams from all over California and Texas participated. "We did really well," Hilal said. "We received excellents or superiors in everything."

The Song squad was invited to play at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, and received an overall rating of superior. Varsity was recognized for its original choreography, while the JV squad was given the title of hardest working squad at camp.

Furthermore, the squad will be participating in four competitions this year against other California schools. On Sept. 29, the squad will travel to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to compete against other California teams in the USA/Boardwalk Cheer & Dance Competition.

Along with a new JV squad, the varsity squad is split into two groups, Cheer and Song/Pom. "The difference now is that the choreographed dances are for Song/Pom, while Cheer focuses on various stunting and tumbling moves," junior Song leader Julie Ming said.

While many people claim cheerleading should not fall under the category of a sport, the cheerleaders say otherwise. "Cheerleading is totally a sport," senior varsity Song/Pom captain Netta Gal-Oz said. "We run, dance, cheer, stretch, stunt and get injured just like other sports."

With an alternating practice schedule between Song/Pom and Cheer, the team practices between six and eight hours a week, and performs at both home and away football and basketball games.

The team looks forward to opening new doors for competition and exploring new performance techniques. "I'm hoping that next year we'll continue to compete, expand and grow further," Gal-Oz said.

–Additional reporting by Adrienne Nguyen