Catasauqua High School's cheerleading squad took third place in the Competition Division at the 2013 Colonial League Cheerleading Competition on Nov. 6 at the high school.

Catasauqua cheerleader, Tori Saruba, said, "I feel great. Honestly, I didn't think we were going to place at all, and taking third place, it feels great."

Also competing in the Competition Division were Wilson, who placed first with 218.5 points, Southern Lehigh, who placed second with 203.5 points, Salisbury, and Palisades. Catasauqua scored 159.5 points.

"It was definitely a surprise, but a good one. Our pyramids are what got us our points, and our dance," said Catasauqua cheerleader, Shiloh Sziy.

The Rough Riders' routine began with lifts and tumbling, followed by jumps, more tumbling, and jumps again. Next came the stunting portion, which included moving pyramids. The squad also performed a cheer, a dance, and ended with a pyramid, yelling, "Rough Riders."

"We have a really good time working with the dance, and we definitely know how to sell the dance out," Saruba said.

Catty also competed in the Game Time Division, where Palmerton took first place with 256.5 points, Southern Lehigh placed second with 253 points, and Wilson placed third with 229.5 points.

Other squads competing in the Game Time Division were Pen Argyl, Saucon Valley, Northern Lehigh, Northwestern Lehigh, and Bangor.

Catty's Game Time Division routine began with three lifts. The Rough Riders' routine ended by throwing tee shirts to the crowd.

"Usually at our games, we throw tee shirts or something when we do a slow clap and a cheer so that the crowd gets involved, so we figured, why not?" said Sziy.

While the judges tallied their scores, fans were treated to a Stunt Off Exhibition. Trophies and medals were then awarded to the first-place teams in each division.

Regarding Catty's preparation for the competition, Sziy said, "We started the beginning of October, but a lot of our team, we double sport, but we still got it together pretty solid before today."