After three seasons, countless practices and 11 months, the cheerleading season had finally come to a close. The St. Ambrose cheerleaders headed to Florida last week, where they competed in the NCA National Championship.
The Bees ended with a 3rd place spot in the Challenge Cup. The team’s hard work did not go unnoticed, especially the hard work of one junior captain, Sara Lampo.
Lampo started her cheerleading career in 2005. She was the captain of her high school’s cheerleading team and her senior year decided to cheer at Ambrose.
“Cheerleading is a lot of work, but I can’t imagine my life without it,” Lampo said. “I love being a part of our big SAU cheer family.”
Lampo has been a member of the SAU all-girls teams since her freshman year, and plans on cheering again her senior year, for one last season.
Before the National Championships in Daytona, Lampo became a co-captain of her team. In this role, Lampo was responsible for teaching, motivating and supporting the girls during competition season.
During the team’s routine, which had a lot of stunting and tumbling, Lampo played a key role in her team’s success. When it comes to stunting, Lampo is a base. She was awarded the ‘Hidden Strength Award,’ given to a cheerleader that doesn’t look as strong as she is.
“I love trying out new stunts,” Lampo said. “This year I was really lucky to get such a good stunt group. We all have different strengths and they all compliment each other.”
It has always been her goal to pull a standing back tuck, and this year she accomplished that. At nationals, Lampo pulled not just one, but two.
During the school year, cheerleading takes up a lot of Lampo’s time. The season includes a lot of time management between practices, workouts and school. Lampo is an education major and would like to teach special education.
Most people might not know these little known facts about Lampo, but she is a triplet, loves pigs, and was the prom queen her senior year.