Freedom High School's varsity cheerleaders took first place in the large varsity division at a cheerleading competition hosted by the Easton Area High School cheerleaders on Dec. 22.

Patriot captain, Danae Morgan, said, "I think everybody kind of felt we had it, but when we heard our name, everyone was so excited. Everyone knew we hit it. It was our best performance."

After competing at Kutztown University earlier in the month, the Patriots decided to make some changes to their original routine, which included a formation, partner stunts, and a standing tumbling segment.

"The partner stunts were our biggest change because we didn't hit them at all [at Kutztown]," said Morgan.

Working in Freedom's favor was the bad weather, giving the Patriots extra time to make and perfect the changes since the competition had to be postponed.

Freedom cheerleading coach, Lynn Spina, said, "I looked at the scoresheet, and I think those changes were well-received. We hit a lot of stunts, and we hit a lot of things we were working on. As you can imagine, I was quite working on. As you can imagine, I was quite proud."

The Patriots' routine began with a cheer and a basket toss followed by back handsprings, and ended with a pyramid and dance.

Freedom's cheerleading squad includes 20 girls of which two are seniors. The Patriots will compete at the District XI Cheerleading Competition on Jan. 11 at Shawnee Middle School in Easton.