Emily BeresfordExpress Editor

Cheering is more than a yelling group of girls in short skirts. Cheer-ing is a serious sport, and it’s much harder than you may think. The MSG Varsity show “The Cheering Life” hosted by Suzy Stary gives its viewers a look into the lives of high school cheerleaders. Many teams featured on the show are try-ing to prove that what they do is a sport, and our very own Westhill cheerleading team has been chosen for a spot on the show.

“It was very exciting, espe-cially for the seniors,” social stud-ies teacher and cheerleading coach Ms. Tintle said. Each episode is 30 minutes long with three teams shown per segment. “Finally we can get some recognition as a sport,” coach Tintle said.

Most people think that the extent of cheerleading is cheering for the football team, and then are

done for the year. In actuality, the fall season is only practice for the upcoming competition season dur-ing winter.

The show focuses on the con-ditioning of cheerleading teams. The show’s producers came to a Westhill practice to film. They filmed repetitive conditioning work, which became tedious when the team had to do over fifty push-ups so that the camera could film from various angles.

In addition to the practice that was filmed, the MSG Var-sity filming crew also filmed the cheerleaders before and during the game Westhill football played against Bridgeport Central High School, focusing primarily on the cheerleaders’ halftime routine. The cheerleaders will be filmed at one more practice before the show airs.

Training during competition season is extensive; it is held al-most everyday for up to three hours

in the afternoons following school. This is all on top of homework, and any other activities cheerleaders are involved in.

“Hopefully our hard work is portrayed through the show. We feel like our team doesn’t get a lot of recognition, so to finally have our own spotlight was a really cool feeling,” Emily Fitzpatrick, a se-nior captain, said.

“The Cheering Life” has also featured Fairfield Ludlowe and other FCIAC teams. The show is a chance for cheerleading teams to show others what cheerleading re-ally is, and to make people take it seriously.

“There’s a bias against cheer-leading,” Tintle said. The show is a chance to show everyone how hard cheerleaders really work.

“The Cheering Life” is a monthly show that features teams from across the Tri-State area on the MSG Varsity channel, so be sure to watch.

Throughout the entirety of this fall season, Westhill’s boys and girls cross country runners can be found pacing their ways through the day. Rain or shine, these athletes run meets each week, which vary between four and five kilometers each.

“Considering that we have

obstacles [including having a very small team], we did real-ly well,” senior captain Nicole Ambrosecchio said.

“There is a real bond with all cross country and track teams. They’re like a dysfunc-tional family,” history teacher and cross country coach Mr.

White said. The team has already won

a few meets this season, despite such a small team and are plan-ning on winning many more. Ambrosecchio, along with fel-low junior captain Claire Howl-ett, will continue to lead the team in warm-ups and stretches

as they act as role models for their fellow runners.

The season will end in late October after the state open meet at Wickham park in Man-chester. But, all aspiring runners can also run for the indoor track team, which begins soon after for the winter season.

45SportSoctober 2012

Despite a record of 1-11-1 to start the season, the girls’ field hockey team is making strides toward improvement. Many of the varsity starters are sophomores and juniors, such as junior captains Leah Sottosanti and Emily Gaa. The younger

team members have been gain-ing valuable playing experi-ence this year and are expected to have a virtually intact roster next year, as there are only a few seniors that will be leaving the team.

The team has faced difficult

teams so far, such as Wilton and Darien. The Vikings have tied twice and lost once in overtime. Despite these difficulties, the team has persevered throughout the season.

“Even though we’ve had our challenges, we are coming

together as a team, improving our skills and planning to finish the season strong,” Gaa said. The team’s attitude is key to its future success. The remain-ing schedule includes matchups against Norwalk and cross-town rival Stamford High.

MSG Varsity features cheerleaders

The Westhill-Stamford High girls’ swimming team led by Coach Rick Lewis has a 3-5 record. This is a respectable record for such a small team, made up of about 20 swimmers. The team is led by senior cap-tains Colleen Walker and Steph-anie Ego.

“So far the girls have

stepped up their game at vari-ous meets, like the Ridgefield meet this past week, and have constantly been working hard to perform better. As our season comes to an end, we’re focus-ing on making FCIAC and State cuts and enjoying the time left,” Walker said.

Many athletes on the team

have individual goals, like Walker’s goal of making the FCIAC and State cuts. Similar to track and field, swimming is both an individual and a team sport. You win as a team, but as an individual you can go beyond your team’s success by improv-ing your time in a particular event. If you place well in your

races, you are provided with the opportunity to compete at high-er levels, such as the States and FCIAC competitions.

Overall, the girls’ swim-ming team has had a success-ful season and looks ahead to meets against the Greenwich team and the of Norwalk/Brien McMahon team.

Joe Schlessinger & Marlena Fishell / Sports Reporter & Staff Writer

FLYING HIGH The Westhill varsity cheerleaders work on their halftime pyramid during a practice on October 12.

Sydney Olshan / Head Illustrator

Eliza Engel / Sports Photographer

Fall sports show promise of success

Girls’ Swimming

Field Hockey

Cross Country