Mount Sinai cheerleading's winning tradition continues with another state title
Mount Sinai poses after its victory in the NYSPHSAA cheerleading championship at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, N.Y. on March 2. Credit: Jorge Marcano
It's a tradition unrivaled by any other cheerleading program in the state.
Mount Sinai remains the most successful squad at the sport’s highest level. After winning a state title in the inaugural season of 2016, the Mustangs have collected five straight crowns: 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 (there was no state event in 2020 because of the pandemic).
Despite only returning six of their 15 members this year and consisting of mainly freshmen and eighth graders, the Mustangs believed in the team’s ability to continue the unwavering winning tradition.
“The teams before us built us a legacy to uphold and we want to make them proud,” said Laila Cuocco, one of the three seniors on the squad. “The pressure doesn’t hurt us. It gave us and especially the younger girls a lot of confidence and that was key.”
Alumni of the Mustangs’ spirit program are at every practice, providing insight and suggestions for the routine.
“We all look up to them, so it pushes us to try harder in practice,” senior Ava Furbush said.
Mount Sinai continues to make history under coach Megan Wesolowski, who is an alumnus herself that graduated in 2012 and has been at the helm for the past nine seasons.
“I tell them that they can’t go there and expect to win because of who they are. Those teams gave you that sense of security, but you have to put in the effort to earn every win,” Wesolowski said. “Nothing is ever guaranteed.”
“I think our success starts with the coaches,” Furbush said. “They push us not only physically, but mentally. They make us want to put in the extra hours outside of practice to come prepared each day.”
While Mount Sinai won the first three competitions this season, it dropped three in a row in December before the county championship.
“I think that motivated us because we recognized where we needed to step up and correct things,” Cuocco said. “We wanted to be ready to be the best we could be at counties because we wanted to get the chance to get another state ring.”
The state championship seems to be where the Mustangs shine. They received no deductions throughout the day, pumping their fists in excitement after each stunt and embracing each other after the final pose.
“They want to be at states,” Wesolowski said. “It’s crazy because it’s the one place that they never seem nervous. They just want to perform and have fun.”
“I think we aren’t nervous because we’re focused on having fun,” Furbush said. “We take out a stunt and add more dancing to our routine, so we know that we have a chance to have fun with it and we just enjoy it.”
The Mustangs have been on a roll since they started, and they don’t believe it’s going to stop.
“I can leave the team knowing we pushed as hard as we could and continued to give the future teams something to strive for,” Furbush said.
“I’m really proud of all of [the younger girls] because they stepped up and proved that they wanted to be there every day this season,” Cuocco said. “They motivated the team just like the seniors did, which gives me a good feeling about the future of this program.”
