McKeesport cheer team wins IASF Worlds championship
May 18—Members of the Rain Athletics Aqua team were at their final regular-season cheer competition, a little less than a month from competing for an International All Star Federation's Worlds championship, when they got some very bad news.
During a heavy storm the final weekend of March, wind had torn the roof from Rain's practice facility in McKeesport.
"We ended up renting a gym at Founders' Hall Middle School and we crunched everything we'd do in a month into about two weeks," said Rain co-owner and coach Jacob Parker.
They also ended up bringing home a world championship in their division.
For team member Ellie Stasko, 17, of Murrysville, it was a crowning moment in 12 years of competitive cheering.
"This is my fifth year at Rain," Stasko said. "One of my friends took me to an open gym and that's when I got involved."
During the team's regular season, members criss-cross the country at competitions in places like Louisville, Dallas, Atlanta and Atlantic City. The 19 members of the Aqua team — comprised of girls between the ages of 13-18 — compete at Level 6, the highest level within the U.S. All Star Federation, and were part of the Limited Senior Small division. Team members come from Murrysville, Hempfield, North Huntingdon, Smithton and Canonsburg, with at least one driving from West Virginia to attend practices, Parker said.
"A lot of these kids have worked most of their lives to make it to this point," Parker said. "Worlds are an invitation-only event."
And despite having a routine that Parker and other coaches had fine-tuned and tweaked over the course of the season, losing their gym with less than a month to go created some considerable pressure.
"After the gym, we moved into another temporary space. It was madness, and it definitely made things interesting," Parker said.
Stasko said she and other team members kept their confidence level high.
"When you're backstage, you know that you can do it," she said. "And that part isn't stressful. But there's always the doubt that if you mess up, will everyone be mad at you? We're always prepared, though."
Stasko's mother Jennifer said she couldn't be more proud of the work the Aqua team has done.
"These girls have all been competing for years, and it takes that long to develop all the skills they need to win something like IASF Worlds," she said. "The girls practice several hours a night for three or four nights a week. For the team to come together and win at Worlds, it took the right group with the right skills and personalities."
For more on the team, see RainAthletics.com.
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick by email at pvarine@triblive.com or via Twitter .
