ORLANDO, Fla. — The Pearl River cheer dynasty continues.
The Wildcats hit the mat over the weekend at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and once again made the Wildcat family proud, successfully defending their All Girl Game Day national title and finishing second in the nation in All Girl Traditional.
"This weekend is what your whole season boils down to," head coach Sarah Smith said. "We put in the work at home, practicing a tough schedule and even training through holiday breaks. The girls sacrifice a lot and put their hearts into this program. You get one weekend to give it your all, and then you wait a year to try again."
Pearl River opened the weekend strong, taking first place in the semifinals of Open All Girl Game Day with a score of 94.4667. The Wildcats earned the win by more than six points, topping Northwest Mississippi, Widener, Fairleigh Dickinson, Scranton, Misericordia, Baker, Centre, Gwynedd Mercy, Mount Union and Roger Williams to advance to the finals.
The Wildcats continued to excel in the finals, posting a score of 95.5667 to secure back-to-back national championships in the Game Day category.
"It's tough to win a national championship back-to-back," Smith said. "This team accepted the challenge and left no doubt as they exited the performance floor after Game Day finals. Their routine was perfection. We received so much love and support from athletes and spectators from other programs — it was that good."
In the All Girl Traditional semifinals, Pearl River secured a spot in the finals with a first-place finish, scoring an 83.6. The Wildcats defeated Northwest Mississippi, Iowa Western, Southeastern, Misericordia, Rowan, The College of New Jersey, Widener, Pikeville, Fairleigh Dickinson, Baker, Union Commonwealth, Mount Union, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Stevenson, Roanoke and Albright.
During the finals, PRCC scored an 81.6 to earn second place overall in the event.
"In traditional, it can certainly be frustrating at times to finish second for three years in a row, but Pearl River cheer will never back down," Smith said. "We will continue to improve year after year and keep building this program at our amazing college. We love The River, and we love representing Pearl River on a national level."
Members of the 2025-26 squad include Chloe Atkins (Purvis), Haylie Charlton (Lucedale; George County), Claire Childs (Sumrall), Taylor Davis (Sumrall), Laney Deitz (Mobile, Ala.; Faith Academy), Katie Duran (Starkville), Katelyn Gandy (Purvis), Kylie Gerald (Diamondhead; Hancock), Katie Anne Hedgepeth (Picayune), Gracey Hinkel (Moss Point; East Central), Harmonie Johnson (Purvis), Jada Jones (Petal), Makelsie Koenenn (Kiln; Hancock), Mia Miciello (Columbia), Nyla Myers (Florence), Karson Netto (Vancleave), Kaleigha Nixon (Carrier; Pearl River Central), Addie Norris (Poplarville), Briana Ordonez (Ridgeland), Daisy Parker (Saucier; West Harrison), Bella Penland (Carriere; Pearl River Central), Camdyn Powell (Purvis), Mattie Prince (Sumrall), Hayden Reesor (Kiln; Hancock), Holyn Smith (Picayune), Skye Storozuk (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove), Tatum Teague (Petal), Camryn Underwood (Picayune), Alee Waters (Petal), Chloe Watkins (Picayune) and Jazamine Williams (Picayune).
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