Adryan Williams wins individual competition

RALEIGH, March 10, 2007 – Someone had to stop Morgan State. Who better to do it than the North Carolina A&T cheerleading squad? The Aggies ended the Bears’ 10-year hold on the University All-Girl Division Championship by winning the division championship on Saturday.

The Aggies also won the Overall Championship, coming one division shy of sweeping all four competitions. Norfolk State won the Co-ed Division. The overall competition included every MEAC school other than Coppin State, Howard and Hampton.

Individually, senior Adryan Williams took first-place in the All-Star competition, while senior teammate Kellie Fletcher took third. The young ladies were judged on stunting, jumps, dance, crowd response, creativity and gymnastics. It was a special moment for Williams as she won the competition in her hometown of Raleigh. Fletcher is a native of Fayetteville, N.C.

“Each team gets to choose two young ladies to compete in the individual portion,” said co-cheerleading coach Adjoa Botwe-Rankin. “This year we decided to put it to a vote amongst our cheer squad. I think they did an excellent of choosing two deserving young ladies to represent the squad and the University.”

In the University All-Girl Division, which means a squad has less than three male members, Marcus Walker choreographed the Aggies routine. The owner of Cheer Carolina in Hillsborough, N.C., had the Aggies proficient in gymnastics, stunts, jumps and dance.  

Saturday’s championships were the Aggies fourth in three years. Two years ago, they won the co-ed competition, which includes teams with more than three males.