COURTESY OF PAULA CHUN The Damien Memorial High School junior varsity pep squad poses with their trophy. Pictured in the top row are Alana Hu, left, of Sacred Hearts Academy, Malia Wolcott of St. Andrew's Priory, team coach Violetta Wright and Lesley Medeiros of Sacred Hearts; in the bottom row are Catherine Costello, left, of St. Patrick's School, and Sacred Hearts students Annika Carlson, Maile Makuaole, Ashley Moser and Lucy Hosoda. Sacred Hearts Academy student Alyssa Keechong, also a member of the squad, did not attend the competition.

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Local pep squad
wins cheers

The Damien JV team earns
national honors competing with
eight of its nine members

A group of girls representing Damien Memorial High School are a small team making it big in the world of cheerleading.

The middle-school team won the junior varsity Parochial (Catholic Schools) Division of the National Cheerleading Association/National Dance Association championships.

It's the latest of a string of victories under the tutelage of Violetta Wright, a Damien counselor who has coached the varsity and junior varsity pep squads for more than 20 years.

Her winning strategy boils down to work, work, work.

The Damien junior varsity team performed with only eight of its nine members to win the championship at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., in March, whereas most other teams averaged 25 members, said Alyssa Keechong, 12. Keechong belongs to the junior varsity team but was unable to travel to the championships.

Damien's varsity team came in second in the upper division of the parochial competition.

Keechong attends Sacred Hearts Academy, a girls' Catholic school. Most girls attending parochial schools usually want to cheer for Saint Louis School because it has a winning football team, she said, but she wanted to cheer for Damien because her dad is an alumnus.

"Our practices are good and intense every day except Sunday and Monday," she said. The team probably stood out at the competition because of its size and precisely synchronized motions, Keechong added.

The girls work hard to excel "because we are motivated," Keechong said. "(Because) we represent the school, we want to win as much as possible. I wasn't expecting to be first because last year was our first competition."

The group won first place in a New York competition in that startup year.

In addition to Keechong, members of the JV squad are Alana Hu, Annika Carlson, Maile Makuaole, Lesley Medeiros, Ashley Moser and Lucy Hosoda from Sacred Hearts Academy; Catherine Costello from St. Patrick's School; and Malia Wolcott from St. Andrew's Priory.

Paula Chun, an assistant coach and helper, has been one of the steadiest supporters of the team. Her daughter, Andrea, had been a member ever since fifth grade, when she served as a mascot. Now Andrea is a senior and has been captain of the varsity squad for the past five years.

Chun said coach Wright's hard-work philosophy does not seem to discourage anyone. The girls are also like sisters, she said.

The boys and teachers at the schools refer to the squad as the "Ladies of Damien" because they "are so proud of the ladies," Chun said. "The faculty always praises them and is there to help. They are 100 percent behind the girls."