At the most recent home football game, the Sacramento State student body saw the Hornet football team defeat the No. 21 ranked Weber State 24-17. They would have also seen bodies flying in the air and heard unforgettable cheer routines throughout the game.

The people that were keeping the crowd into the game were none other than the Sac State cheerleading squad.

The Universal Cheerleading Association’s No. 2 ranked school in small schools co-ed division is made up of 30 to 40 members in any given year said head coach Bobby Biggs.

To be a part of this program at Sac State, a potential cheerleader, male and female, must go through an extensive testing session that focuses on critical areas of cheerleading.

“We hold tryouts in the spring semester for the next school year. Each person must perform a cheer, a dance routine, demonstrate some gymnastics and stunting skills,” Biggs said.

On top of attending football, volleyball, and basketball games, the cheer team members are also asked to make appearance at Kings’ games, special events on campus and various other activities the athletic department asks them to attend.

Captain David Benjamin, third semester graduate in English, said on top of the special appearances, the cheer schedule for Sac State sports will get very hectic at different points in the school year.

“Our cheer schedule gets really busy in the month of November because volleyball and football are ending and basketball is just starting up,” Benjamin said. “So there are some points in the sports schedule where we are cheering three sports all at the same time.”

Benjamin said he has been a member of the cheer team for six years. He comes back year after year for the companionship and the elusive national title.

“We have always had a good group of people that come and try out and end up making the team,” Benjamin said. “Of course, it is always fun when it comes time to compete. We have come close in the past two years, but just haven’t quite gotten that No. 1 or even the title yet. So that is something I am shooting for.”

Just as the football team has training camps and conditioning during the summer, so does the cheer squad.

“A lot of work goes into cheering. We have a training week before we go to camp during the summer,” Benjamin said. “In the week that we are training before going to camp, we train in the gym and also work with our partners practicing our stunts. At camp we learn skills that will help us through the school year.”

While attending a Sac State football game, sophomore Steven Menebroker, a recreation, parks, and tourism major, was amazed by how much physical strength it took to lift each female cheerleader.

“I thought it was pretty interesting how the men were able to lift the female cheerleaders that easy,” Menebroker said. “I didn’t know they had to have that much upper body strength, it seemed effortless.”

In her first semester with the cheerleading squad, freshman psychology major Gabby Villegas said being on the Sac State cheerleading team is a whole new experience for her.

“It is a lot different because I am used to competitive cheerleading. I was at a lower level in high school and this is a much higher level of competition,” Villegas said. “It is much harder, but I really like it and I really like the team.”

Villegas wants the student body to know that what they see on the field, took a lot of time and work to make right.

“I don’t think people realize how difficult cheering really is. At the games we do stunts, but they don’t see how difficult it is at practice,” Villegas said. “It is a lot harder than it looks.”

Matt Harrington can be reached at [email protected]