Noelle Jeffries

The Delaware State University cheer team is gearing up to compete in its first cheer competition after seven long years. Over the years, the team has cheered solely on “game day,” supporting the football and basketball teams, as well as other hornet sports teams. 

You can catch these ladies at nearly every home game cheering their team to a hornets victory. Not only do they cheer, but they stunt, tumble, and shake something too.

Competitive cheer routines are complex as they are filled with unique stunts, skilled tumbling passes and intriguing choreography.

Being a competitive team is completely different from traditional game day cheer, but as you can see these ladies are all about versatility. 

After asking her “Why now?,” head cheer coach, Sharon Whitaker, stated “My assistant cheer coach, Ashley Alston, has given us this great opportunity and I am excited to see this happen. It’s been years.”

The cheer program used to participate in the annual MEAC Cheerleading Championship, however in 2017, the conference decided to discontinue the cheer competitions. 

The championship used to be the one time of the year mid-eastern cheerleaders looked forward to, as they would compete to claim that number one spot, but now they are forced to find funding for outside competitions not sponsored by the conference and Delaware State Cheer is doing just that.

“My team has been working very hard and we are excited to hit the mat,” said Delaware State Cheer captain, Asia Simmons. 

DSU Cheer is finally ready to defend its title as the only HBCU cheerleading team in the state of Delaware.

The ladies are set to participate in the Caesar Rodney High School Cheer Classic on February 22, 2020. The competition will consist of Elementary, Middle, Junior High, High School, and College teams. Support from the DSU Community is greatly appreciated.