DOVER, Fla. — The Strawberry Crest High School cheer team is celebrating after winning its eighth consecutive state championship, and now, they’re preparing for nationals, representing the Tampa Bay area. 

“We have put so much time and effort, and we went through a lot of struggles this year. And we finally put it all together, and left it all on the mat, and it was an amazing feeling,” said Lauren Abbey, a senior at Strawberry Crest High School.

She said while cheering is very physical, it’s also a mental sport, and requires a lot of focus.  

The days of just being on the sidelines at football games are long gone, and these cheerleaders say this sport takes just as much skill and dedication.

“It's a unique experience, it's not like anything I've ever done before.  I've been on the basketball team, been on different types of teams for different sports, and this is the one that like is the most engaging,” said Aydan Perez, a senior on the squad.

Now, as they prepare for what’s considered the Super Bowl of cheerleading, Coach Loveny Savarino says she’s extremely proud of the squad, no matter what happens at nationals. 

“There's a lot of schools out there that win, maybe state's once, but to do it eight times in a row, that's stellar. That's something that's very hard to do, and you don't hear that, with any sport. Eight times is a lot.”

Now, the squad has one thing left to do this year—win.  Again. 

“I feel like a lot of sports have a really hard time doing it and I think it comes easy for us because we have such a good program, and I’m very excited for the legacy that we built,” said Dakota Grigson, a senior.

The UCA National High School Cheer Championship is next weekend, February 11^th-13^th at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports at Disney.