Thursday, March 13th 2025, 10:29 pm
The cheerleading team at the Oklahoma School for the Deaf is back home as national champs.
They placed first at the national championship in New York over the weekend.
Angela Queen was excited to welcome her daughter Sara home Wednesday night in Tulsa. She said it's hard not to cry tears of joy every time she goes back to watch the cheer that won the championship.
"I was just so proud of her," said Queen. "She did a hands-free cartwheel and almost missed it, and I have a screenshot of her head like this close to the mat, and I was like, 'This is why mommas pray.'"
Sara's team placed first in the division 2 national cheerleading championship and is also bringing home gold for an individual competition she won.
"It's just an awesome feeling to know that we actually did it, and after all the ups and downs that we accomplished," said Sara.
The individual competitions were on Friday and the group competition was on Saturday. After practicing all year, they had to adjust their routine at the last second.
"I had a lot of struggles and some mental blocks that I was experiencing, and I just didn't think I was gonna do well, but our team was very supportive," she said.
Looking ahead, Sara hopes to continue cheering for years.
"I do love cheering; I've done it since sixth grade. So I do wanna continue to cheer throughout high school for sure," she said.
This was the third annual national cheerleading competition, and the first win for Oklahoma.
Carrico joined the News On 6 team in 2021 but has worked in Tulsa news since 2016. During that time, he covered the 2018 Oklahoma teacher walkout, record flooding in 2019, President Trump's Tulsa rally in 2020, the local impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a PGA Championship & a LIV Golf Tournament.
March 13th, 2025
March 14th, 2025
March 13th, 2025
March 14th, 2025
March 14th, 2025