Bright blue lights dance across the stage as 22 all-star cheerleaders begin their routine. In only two minutes and 30 seconds, the team perform impressive stunts, tumbling, dance and cheer.
From April 25 to 28, sophomore Ellie Grace Crump and her cheer team, New Jersey Spirit Explosion, won second place at The Cheerleading Worlds 2025 Championship. Because the team placed among the top ten teams on the first day of the competition, it qualified to perform on the second day. On the second day, it received 156.6 out of 170 possible points. The team fell short of first place by only half a point.
“The moment we knew we placed second was just after our (first) performance. We knew that we were going to make the top three,” Crump said. “Based off of the routine and how well we performed it, since we had more difficulty and a better score on day one, we knew that we were either gonna get first, second or third.”
The championship was hosted at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. Founded in 2004, over 500 teams from 25 countries compete at Worlds.
In order to qualify for and attend Worlds, a team must receive a bid. A paid bid is given to the two highest scoring teams in a certain division throughout the winter-spring season, meaning the sponsor is willing to pay for both the team’s entry to Worlds and its accommodations, while an at-large bid comes with no sponsorship.
“We only accept paid bids. If we qualify for an at-large (bid), which we did at a previous competition, we don’t accept it,” Crump said. “We knew later in the season we would have gotten a paid bid at a competition.”
All-star cheerleading encompasses various divisions based on age, the size of the team and whether boys participate on the team. Teams can be ranked on different levels of difficulty, ranging from Level 1 to Level 7. Those competing at Worlds must be a Level 6 team or higher. Crump participated in an all-girls senior team with 22 girls in total ranging from 13 to 19 years old. Each of the team’s four coaches specializes in a different aspect of cheer, such as tumbling or choreography. Crump’s main coach, Theapia Wilder, has run New Jersey Spirit Explosion for 30 years. Crump, who is a back spotter and tumbler, holds a special bond with her choreography coach.
“He (my choreography coach) always gives me pointers, corrections. He hypes me up,” Crump said. “I love my stunt group. If something in our stunt goes wrong, we make sure to talk it out about what we felt went wrong in the stunt, and then we build up from there.”
Crump has cheered for ten years and for her freshman and sophomore years at Conestoga, Crump competed on the football cheer team coached by Margo Cannon. The football cheer team stands on the sidelines of the field to perform for and engage the audience. Junior Brynn Penny was in the same Conestoga stunt group as Crump.
“Ellie is incredibly determined and focused,” Penny said. “She’s a very hard worker and keeps a good attitude throughout all practices and games.”
Crump, who had attended Worlds twice before this year, reflected on her deep commitment and the fulfillment from winning second.
“My motivation is that it is all worth it in the end. Every single practice, every single performance. I got second in the World Championship. It is all worth it in the end,” Crump said. “It’s just great when the work that you put in has a great outcome.”
Grace Hu can be reached at [email protected].
