Cheer teams head to D2 Summit championship

Twist’n U is hosting a community showcase and fundraiser at the gym in Lake Elsinore on Saturday, April 16, at 1 p.m. All in the community are invited to attend. All five of Twist’n U’s “University All Stars” cheer teams will be performing in preparation for two of the teams to travel to a national competition in Florida.

Several Canyon Lake girls are involved with the competitive University All Stars cheer program at the Twist’n U gym. The program has been in place for seven years, with five teams ranging in age from 3 years old to high school senior level. The groups primarily compete in Southern California and Las Vegas.

Twist’n U founder/owners Jeremy and Anna Thompson of Canyon Lake say the program has had great success this season with two of the teams qualifying for the D2 Summit NSPA National Championships in Tampa, Florida from April 30 to May 1. The invitation-only competition accepts the top 10 percent of competitive cheer teams in the nation.

Jeremy says, “In order to qualify for this event, we have to attend specific competitions that offer bids to the D2 Summit. The two competitions that we attended to qualify had approximately 600 teams at each event and, out of the 600 teams, only five bids were offered for our category. So we are very proud and honored to have earned a spot to compete in a true national championship.”

The University All Stars youth level 2 team, “Green Diamonds” (ages 11 and under), received an at-large bid, and the senior level 2 team, “Purple Diamonds” (ages 10 to 18), received a paid bid to attend the D2 Summit. (An “at-large bid” means each member must pay to attend; a “paid bid” means there is no charge for competition expenses.)

Jeremy explains, “In order to receive a paid bid, your team has to have one of the highest overall scores at the specific competition that was attended to qualify. Out of the 40 teams for this specific division that have qualified across the nation, only six have been ‘paid bids . . . This is an amazing and exciting honor for our program.”

The Green Diamonds have 20 athletes on the team and, out of the 20, there are seven Canyon Lakers: Hailey Berry, Mia Badillo, Chloe Cruz, Emma Dornay, Skyler Fullerton, Rula Katsouritas and Sydney Manning.

The Purple Diamonds also have 20 athletes on the team and nine are Canyon Lakers: Tatum Berton, Caylee Coughlin, Brooke Helbock, Lauryn Frasca, Stephanie Maxwell, Kennedy Reese, Abby Signorio, Emily Smith and Lexi Thompson.

Three other teams are Tiny Diamonds, ages 3-6; Diamonds, ages 14 and under; and Black Diamonds, ages 11-18.

Jeremy says one of the many reasons for the cheer program’s success this season is due to the “amazing coaching staff.”

Head coach Jill McFeely has been coaching for 14 years and has had more than 100 wins on the national level and multiple undefeated seasons as a coach. She has won as a coach and athlete at virtually all levels.

Coach Brad Weber moved from Virginia to coach at University All Stars. Brad attended the University of Kentucky where he won two national championships cheering for UK. He also won three world championships cheering for Team USA.

Coach Jordan Lies cheered at Cal Baptist University in Riverside and, while attending CBU, won two national championships.

Jeremy says, “Please come out and show your support as we get prepared to travel to Florida. Twist’n U is a 501C3 non-profit company and if you would like to donate or help in any way, it would greatly appreciated. “

University All Stars/Twist’n U  is family-owned and operated by Jeremy and Anna Thompson and located at 17945 Collier Ave in Lake Elsinore. For more information, call 951-245-6969 or visit universityallstars.com and twistnu.com.




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