For the members of the Varsity Cheer team, the day could not have gone any better.
At the end of October, the members of WSVC, led by senior captains Valerie Rosenau and Cindy Choi, triumphed over their rival Lake Braddock, by a full 10 points, securing their seventh straight Patriot District Championship victory.
“When we heard Lake Braddock was second and we were first, it was the best moment of my life,” said senior captain Cindy Choi.
The team has been practicing their three minute routine since the summer in order to prepare for the highly competitive Patriot District Championship.
“We are definitely one of the most competitive teams, every team is trying to beat us,” said sophomore Kaitlyn Bolton.
Rivals Lake Braddock and South County came dangerously close to unseating the Spartans as defending champions, as each team practices their routine down to the last detail to impress the judges.
“All other schools have their eyes on you,” said Bolton.
In order to compete in the Patriot district, it is imperative that routines are practiced over and over and that each athlete is performing at the top of their game.
“As a coach it’s my job to choreograph and put together the routine and help the kids perfect their skills,” said cheer team head coach Betsy Fawsett.
With the short amount of practice time between tryouts and the competition season, in addition to performing at each home football game, the cheer team has a very limited time frame in which to develop their skills and positions in the routine up to the level required to be competitive.                                                                                                                                            “There’s a lot going on,” said Fawsett.
Going into the competition, held at Lake Braddock, the pressure weighed heavily on each member of the team, especially the captains.
“All the pressure was on us, you don’t want to be the team that loses,” said senior captain Valerie Rosenau.
The hard work paid off however, as the final result proclaimed WS as the Patriot District champions.
“I was really excited and felt a lot of anxiety lifted from me,” said sophomore Nicholas Nguyen.
WS cheer has made a name in the district as a powerhouse team to beat. As the team celebrates another year as district champs, they must also look ahead to the future.
For head coach Betsy Fawsett, she must celebrate the team’s success while also helping them prepare for Regionals.  Fawsett is exceptionally proud of her team’s hard work.
“This is my tenth season coaching at West Springfield and I’m extremely proud of the program as a whole.”