“Give it up for California High School!” the announcer yelled before we took the floor.

Our hearts were pounding, the adrenaline was flowing through our bodies as we ran onto the stage jumping and shouting while we took our places in the routine.

The crowd roared until we had settled into our positions.

There was a quick millisecond of silence, just enough time to blink, before the music blasted over the speakers. Counts were running through our heads as our first stunts flew into the air.

From this first moment on, my inaugural trip to the National High School Cheerleading Championship at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., was a thrilling experience.

I joined more than two dozen girls on Cal’s varsity cheer team who qualified for the annual competition, held Feb. 7-8 in Hollywood Studios at the Disney World theme park.

To qualify for nationals we had to score at least 60 points at the UCA competition on Dec. 6, at UC Davis. Since there are many different divisions, teams come from across the United States. The 12,000 cheerleaders who competed for spots in the finals came from California, Texas, and Alabama.

“I was really excited to be back for the second time for another competition,” said senior Sarah Pisciotta, who competed at nationals last year. “I love seeing all the different teams and meeting new cheerleaders.”

We qualified and advanced to nationals for the seventh time in school history, according to our coach, Gabi Lucatero.

At nationals, we were in Super Varsity Division 1 with about 30 other schools from across the country. Unfortunately, we were not among the top 12 teams to make the semifinals on Feb. 7, but we were all very proud of one another and how we performed.

“My biggest hope and goal for this team was that they would come together and perform as a team and that’s exactly what they did,” said Coach Gabi Lucatero, “When I look back on this 2015 Florida competition I will feel a sense of pride and accomplishment and hope my girls do too.”

The road to the nationals is a long one for all teams. Before reaching nationals, Cal had 130 practices, which equates to about 260 hours worth of hard work and sweat all for one chance on the stage at nationals.

But what a moment it was for the team.

Once the music began, our hands shot up as we hit our double toe touches. Tumbling passes sprang across the floor, all of us cheering one another on.

As we transitioned into our partner stunts all of us were wondering the same thing, “Is our stunt going to hit?”

One of the most important and difficult parts of the routine that we had all worked so hard for and only this moment counted.

Full ups to tee- falls to inverted handstands to libs finally finished off with a pancake, our partner stunts were over in matter of seconds.

The music stopped, we slapped our sides on three and in unison we yelled at the top of our lungs “CHS, orange and black!”

This began the cheer portion of our routine, which allows us to get the crowd involved. The music began again and our motions – fast, sharp, and precise – began the dance that led to our pyramid.

“Go Cal!” was our final message to the judges, hoping they liked what they saw.

Two and a half minutes, 150 seconds, and it was over.

But the experience will never be forgotten.