NEW YORK — Screams of joy marked the exact moment the Seward Park High School campus cheerleading team found out their score at regionals earned them a bid at the National High School Cheerleading Championship next month, a first for their school.

“I am really excited! I can’t even find words to really explain it," said Kayla Martin, a senior on the Lower East Side-based cheerleading team. "It’s going to be the best year ever."

For Martin and her teammates, getting there wasn’t easy.  

“I’ve been cheering with them since June... and now it’s just crazy the growth that we’ve had, and we’ve built such a bond,” Martin said.

Competitive cheerleading is a first for many on the new team. They also had to overcome practicing throughout the pandemic, with members sitting out after testing positive for COVID-19.

“Definitely been difficult between COVID precautions, everyone has different situations, high school in general, so it’s been a challenge to get to regional and to nationals,” said Grace Ayodele, a junior on the team.

The city’s Public School Athletic League doesn’t deem cheerleading a sport, so the team has had to make the best of limited resources, even utilizing the school’s weight room to practice. 

“We’re in a gym where we have to move equipment around, and I’m sure many schools have to do that, especially in the city, when space is of the essence, and use the mats — we have a limited amount,” the squad's head coach, Giana Quinterno, said.

Quinterno and the team have raised more than $28,000 to cover their costs, including the trip to Walt Disney World to compete. She said this will be her first time taking a team to nationals, and is certain, with all the support they’re receiving, it will not be the team’s last.

“All of the effort, all the support that we get, is going back into our program, so that we can continue to create, so that every year we’re not scraping for things and trying to figure it out,” Quinterno said.

With the big competition about a month away, these underdogs have been practicing three times a week. Though admittedly a bit anxious, the team feels they are more than capable of exceeding expectations once again.

“I’m just expecting us to do our best and to have fun, you know. It's an experience,” Ayodele said. “I really want to do good. Everyone who donated, I want to make everyone proud."