Blue Streak cheerleader taking spirit to Knights

A member of Sebring's back-to-back state champion cheerleading squad will take her spirit to a Division-I sideline this fall.

Blue Streak senior Brittany Alcordo has been selected as one of six freshmen girls from the state of Florida for the University of Central Florida cheerleading team.

Alcordo, who will study nursing at UCF, survived twice-daily cuts over a three-day tryout to earn the right to cheer on the Golden Knights. And compared to the tryout, cheering in front of 45,000 fans at Bright House Networks Stadium will be a breeze.

"The first day of tryouts, I was a mess," said Alcordo, who's cheered since seventh grade. "I didn't know if I could do it, but my mom went with me and that helped me a lot. By the third day, it was almost like being a part of the team, almost normal."

Alcordo will join 2007 Sebring grad Richard Delgado, who's returning to Florida after two years on a cheerleading scholarship at Wallace State Community College. Richard has been offered a position on the UCF team once he completes his AA degree at Valencia Community College in Orlando.

"We cheered together when I was a sophomore." Alcordo said, "And he knows a lot more about college cheering that I do right now. I've been to football games and watched their routines and tried to mimic them at tryouts.

"Cheering at football games is going to really exciting - the adrenaline rush will be my favorite part."

Sebring coach Carolyn Shoemaker said both Alcordo and Delgado will be joining a first-class squad.

"UCF is widely regarded as one of the premier programs in all of college cheerleading," the SHS coach said, noting the Knights have appeared in the ESPN Championship show every year since 1994 and finished among the nation's top three in 10 of last 16 years including 2 national championships (2003 & 2007). "In 2003, the team won their first national crown, ending the University of Kentucky's streak of eight-consecutive titles, and former Sebring High School Cheerleader Stephen Little was a part of the 2003 Championship Team."

In 2007, UCF claimed their second national championship, outlasting several SEC schools, including Kentucky.

"I'm just thrilled," Shoemaker said, noting the team had national exposure during the 2007-08 season when it was featured in a six-part TV documentary that followed them as they prepared to defend their national title. "It's super-competitive for the girls and the coaches there just top-notch, not just as coaches, but as people. She'll be in good hands."

Alcordo said she had an idea late in the tryout that she might make the final cut, but she didn't want to get too confident and "psych herself out." Out of 40 who were selected to try out, she was one of 17 chosen and one of six from the state. Still, Alcordo said, there's plenty of work to tackle before the fall.

"I definitely need to improve on tumbling," she said. "And I'm working on it all the time."