JDHS: Yadaa.at Kalé Cheer Team are national champions
- Klas Stolpe
- Feb 22
- 5 min read
Crimson Bears win USA SPIRIT Nationals championship in California; coach says she believes it is the first time the team has won the title
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
They are going to Disneyland!
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Nationals Cheer Competition team wowed the judges at the 2026 USA SPIRIT Nationals in Anaheim, California with a final performance on Saturday that earned the Crimson Bears a National Championship.
JDHS coach Carlene Nore said she believes it is the first time the team has won the title. She said they went to nationals during the 1990s, but "I don’t think they placed."
“It was an amazing showing for JDHS Cheer,” Nore said. “This team has been together since December third and they have worked so hard to be competitive at this level. Winning at Nationals has been a goal for many years and a process to get this program to this level. It won’t happen overnight, it can take years to develop athletes.”
JDHS earned the 2026 USA SPIRIT Nationals Co-Ed Varsity Show Cheer Advanced Non-Tumbling (small 5-19 members) championship title on the strength of their Saturday performance. The team did a "traditional" cheer routine with a one-minute cheer, then one-and-a-half minutes of music with stunts, jumps, dance and pyramids for a 2.5-minute total.
“It was an extremely hard but rewarding experience,” JDHS Cheer senior Audrey Yu said. “We had no idea what we were getting into and definitely did not expect to place the way we did. We had wonderful coaches and parents who supported us and helped focus on our goal of performing our best. it felt extremely rewarding as this was our first ever competition of the year and we were representing as the only Alaskan team.”
JDHS also took second place for the Co-Ed Varsity Crowdleader (small 5-19 members) event on Saturday. It involved three sections, approximately three to three-and-a-half minutes long, including one-minute Band Chant, one-minute Situational Cheer and Sideline Cheer, followed by a one-minute Fight Song.
“The hardest challenge was definitely keeping in our anxiety before performing,” Yu said. “We were in an unfamiliar situation with so many teams and for the majority of us it was our first competition ever. We were extremely curious of all of our surroundings, but it all worked out well. Our team definitely locked in and brought what we practiced for to nationals…It truly shocked us what other teams could do, such as tumbling and stunts that we’ve never seen before. Being in an area with hundreds of teams definitely put a lot of pressure, but we knew that we were ready. We are extremely proud of ourselves and every other team that performed. It was amazing to see the different styles and skills the cheer world has to offer. Everyone did great and we loved watching teams perform.”
The JDHS Nationals Champions are seniors Yu, Hadley Bex, Renz Hill, Mati Iona, Simon Iputi, Jonah Mahle, Karina San Miguel, Megan Pierce, Kira Tupou and Arely Vera Garcia; juniors Aidan Lazo-Chappell, Krew Ridle and Alexa Scarano; sophomore Viviana Flores; and freshmen Adriana Blanton, Azriel Cristobal and Roxanna Vetrano.
“It was really motivating,” first-year cheer senior Jonah Mahle said of the competition. “Seeing how strong and clean they were pushed me to want to be the best I could, and I'm really competitive so I tried to soak in as much as I could to push myself to be the best me…The hardest part was the pressure. Staying calm and focused at nationals was the hardest part. Just like being constantly aware and heart racing was hard to get over in the beginning…And my experience was amazing as I learned so much about cheer and my team. It was so fun and it made me wish I joined cheer sooner because it really is a great sport.”
In their three days of competitions JDHS placed in all the events they entered in the small (5-19 member) categories. There were over 500 teams competing in separate divisions from junior varsity up to college teams.
JDHS took first in the Game Day Band Chant Small (5-15 members), first in the Co-Ed Varsity Show Cheer Advanced Non Tumbling, first in the Game Day Fight Song Small, second in the Crowdleader Small Co-Ed, third in the Game Day Situational Sideline/Cheer and third in the High School Group Stunt Advanced.
“My experience of going to nationals was absolutely insane,” first-year cheer sophomore Viviana Flores said. “It didn’t feel real to be holding five medals around my neck, performing for the nation, and meeting all of these wonderful teams especially since this was my first year attending. It is crazy that we won national titles."
"It seems like only yesterday that I learned how to do my first elite stunt. It feels unreal to be on the stage and finally getting to perform what we've practiced and worked so hard for…I think the hardest part about Nationals for me is overthinking everything. Me and my team are absolutely capable of doing hard things, but sometimes I get too much in my head about it. It can be pretty overwhelming seeing all of these teams and realizing 'Wow, we really have competition.'"
"But you just have to realize that the stress is just in your head and acknowledge that you can do hard things… It was so interesting watching the different levels of cheer as all the teams performed. I saw stunts that I've never seen before. There were so many teams that had these handkerchiefs with their logos on them that they would wave around and use to rally. All of the teams were so huge, but if I remember correctly, there was a team that had as little as six. Some stunt groups had five people including a front spot, others only had three like 'two men' or 'halves' with no back spots. A lot of these aspects were new to me and I loved seeing the diversity of each team.”
The National Champions return to Juneau on Monday and will join their JDHS Basketball cheer team members that include seniors Claire Babcock (‘Mac’ the bear), Marlee Gines, Shaelyn Martinez (manager) and Richard Tupou, juniors Lumi Fermin, Camden Messmer and Rylie Mulkey, sophomore Laura Parker, and freshmen Mae Butler, Josselyn Davis and Hope Scharen.
JDHS cheer coaches are Carlene Nore, Colby Sanders, Reuben Grimes and Chelsea Kilgore.
“There was certainly many times that we could have given up,” Coach Nore said of the practice leading to this weekend. “But we kept going. It’s important that kids learn that the road to success isn’t a straight line, it’s road blocks, twists and turns and detours but you keep pushing forward...So many thank you’s to alumni, business sponsors, family, friends and the community of Juneau! We certainly wouldn’t be here without all the support.”
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
