Harrison Central cheerleaders earn bid to national competition at Disney World

The Harrison Central cheerleaders are celebrating a season of success after strong performances at recent competitions. On Oct. 19, the team took home first place in the Game Day division and second place in the non-tumble category at a competition hosted by Claymont.

Building on that momentum, the squad traveled to Columbus for regional competition, where they placed eighth out of 18 teams — earning a bid to compete at the Youth Day National Competition in Orlando, Florida, at Walt Disney World.

“Our cheer team is going to go to the Youth Day National Competition in Orlando,” said Coach Karli Ray. “This past weekend we went to Columbus. Our division had 18 teams. We went to try to get a bid to go to that National Competition and, out of eighteen, we placed eighth, so we got a bid.”

To help cover travel and competition costs, the team is organizing several fundraisers. “We are running a whole hog raffle fundraiser,” Ray said. “Those cheer competitions that we are hosting in January will help significantly as well. We should have a gift card raffle coming up, and we’ve already started sending donation letters to local businesses.”

Judges determine which teams advance to the national level by evaluating all performances throughout the day. “Judges look at all the numbers for the day and decide who had the capability to compete at that level,” Ray said.

The team will fly to Florida onJan. 31, 2026. Coaches accompanying the trip include Bailey Ray, Audrey Zanath, Karli Ray and Riley Stewart.

The Game Day team includes 13 cheerleaders: Chloe Thompson, Phoebe Golloli, Kamari West, Alexa DeWees, Lilly Yarish, Halli Montgomery, Ashlynne Corder, Maddilynn Fellows, Shaylen Bethel, Haley Wood, Saige Anthony, Haylee Kelley and Hallie Blake.