Wantagh HS Grad Wins Cheerleading Championship with Hofstra

For the second year in a row, graduate Joanna Cucci has reached the top of the pyramid in college cheerleading. 

Cucci helped guide the Hofstra University cheerleading team to a first place finish in the small coed division at the 2012 Universal Cheerleaders Association College National Championship in Orlando, Fla. on Jan. 15. The Hofstra sophomore was also apart of Hofstra’s 2011 national championship cheerleading squad.

“It was amazing,” said Cucci, who is a flier for the Hofstra’s coed cheerleading team that gets tossed in the air during routines. “Everyone was so ecstatic.”

The 2012 national title was Hofstra’s fourth in a row and seventh since 2003. Cucci said there is a major commitment to be a Hofstra cheerleader with the squad practicing two to three times a day in the couple months leading up to January’s national championship.

“It is very grueling,” said Cucci, a 2010 Wantagh High School graduate who is majoring in education at Hofstra.

Two months before capturing a national championship, Cucci and her Hofstra teammates thrived on the big stage in Paris. The Hofstra cheerleaders were chosen by Varsity Brands Inc. to represent the United States at the 2011 European Open Cheer Championship and they returned home from France with first place honors.

“Joanna is a strong asset to our team,” said Hofstra cheerleading team head coach Christine Farina. “She strives for her best everyday.