Seaford cheerleaders save best for last, win state crown

As the day rolled on and the state championships progressed, the Seaford cheerleading team anxiously watched a live stream of the first three divisions competing from their Rochester hotel on Saturday afternoon.

The results: Back-to-back Long Island champions to begin the day in Mount Sinai and MacArthur, followed by West Babylon’s quality showing for a second-place finish.

Once the Vikings finally arrived at Rochester Institute of Technology in the evening, they then watched as Sachem North also earned a state title.

Seaford coach Lisa Ferrari acknowledged that waiting to compete last, especially on a day in which the Long Island representatives were putting on an absolute show, only increased the pressure leading up to her team’s performance.

"The anticipation and nerves were building," Ferrari said. "We didn’t get to step foot into that arena until 7 p.m."

But as the final act, Seaford ultimately stole the show.

Closing out the state championships with a score of 92.05, Seaford not only won the Division II large school title, but did so with the highest overall score of the day in the process.

"The day was just overwhelming itself," Ferrari said. "And going in there and having them hit their perfect routine in finals and that zero, I was ecstatic by the performance they put on without even knowing what the standings were going to be. They did their job and had a fantastic performance. I couldn’t have asked them to do any better."

The victory also served as Seaford’s first-ever state championship in cheerleading.

"The feeling of knowing the team and I just won Seaford’s first state title is thrilling and mind-blowing," senior captain Ava Albanese said. "All the countless hours of practices, the good times and rough times, we pulled through and really proved to not only ourselves, but also the state that a little town from Long Island has the capability to win a state championship."

Seaford entered RIT with an even greater incentive to win, senior captain Samantha Scaccia said, after losing to Live Oak (Louisiana) by just 0.3 points for first place at the National High School Cheerleading Championships at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida in mid-February.

"After the close finish at Disney, we felt so much extra motivation," Scaccia said. "Being so close to an amazing team made us realize what we could accomplish together and we realized the job's not finished, and we worked even harder to get the state championship."

The nearly month-long wait after their disappointment at Disney was capped by what initially felt like the longest day of the season waiting from their Rochester hotel. Seaford then took the mat and turned it into a historic day for this program.

"It means the world to me to end my Seaford cheerleading time knowing we made history in this program," senior captain Jordan Mahoney said. "I couldn’t have asked for a better ending. This feeling will forever be remembered."