NEPA teams make national scene

Updated: 7:30 p.m., Jan. 23, 2013

Although college cheerleading's big-name teams -- Kentucky, Alabama, UCF -- are mostly in the south, a group of NEPA squads is quietly making waves on the national scene.

Misericordia University, Kutztown University, the University of Scranton and Keystone College all sent teams to Universal Cheerleaders Association's college national championships last weekend. Misericordia placed fourth in the all-girl open division and Kutztown also took fourth in all-girl division 1.

Scranton's cheer team, also competing in all-girl open, finished in the top 10, as did its dance team, also in its respective open division. Keystone placed in the top 10 in small coed division 2.

Misericordia freshman Alyssa Auer and Kutztown senior Talia Russell shared their experiences at nationals.

"Sharing a moment like finding out we made it to finals is indescribable," Auer said. "We were all so excited and absolutely thrilled that our hard work paid off to meet the goal we set to make it to finals!"

The Cougars were in the No. 5 spot heading into finals, Auer said, but reworked the cheer portion of their routine using the judges' input from semi-finals to make it more crowd-friendly. This helped them move up a spot in finals.

Kutztown also had a strong cheer portion in its routine.

"Our routine starts off with our high energy, exciting cheer that makes the fans want to cheer back with us," Russell, the team's president, said. "It's a great way to show our crowd effectiveness while getting the team pumped for the rest of the routine."

The Twitter account @UCAUpdates agreed, tweeting "Roar Bears! Fun routine from Kutztown University" during finals.

Another improvement Misericordia made was to clean up two stunt sequences. The opening stunt sequence -- a college rewind, heel stretch, waterfall out, and a front walkover into an aero and full down -- was one that the squad worked on since summer camp, Auer said, and "we nailed it in the end." Misericordia also added difficulty with a flip dismount from a pyramid sequence.

Kutztown relied on the strength of its practice sessions to carry the team through to a strong finals performance, Russell said.

"We had effective, high energy practices in the days leading up to the competition which enabled us to perform our routine the best we ever have during finals," she said. "Overall, I think the team became stronger as a whole and we were able to work together on the mat."

The practices may have been serious, but the Bears had fun throughout, Russell said.

"One of our main goals as a team this year was to stay focused and I think we achieved that goal while still being able to keep practices exciting," she said.
The key to the Cougars' success was team unity, Auer said, citing the leadership and encouragement of coaches Tara Sinclair and Courtney Coletti, senior captains Amber Schmidt and Alyssa McEntee -- the team's only seniors -- and junior captain Sarah Richards.

"Coming from a high school that doesn't compete, it was amazing to see all the dedication that it took to make our routine all that it was," Auer said. "Misericordia's cheerleading squad stresses the word 'family' and that's exactly what we are, cheer sisters."

Dilemma: Dart or Durango?

My husband and I are considering buying a new car. It's not a pressing need, but his Sunfire has racked up the miles and is not going to be be very baby-friendly (two-door). However, it is in good shape and hasn't had any maintenance issues (*knock wood*). My PT Cruiser has fewer miles and sufficient space, so we're not desperate, but we're pondering.

We've been considering the new Dodge Dart ever since we saw the early release at auto shows. But after commuting "troo da notch" from South Abington Township into Scranton and back in the snow, Joe started to wonder if something a little bulkier and with four-wheel-drive might not be a better option. My dad got a bead on a 2011 Dodge Durango just traded in at the dealership he and I (and half our family) have dealt with for years.

So now, dilemma: which would be better?

In terms of price, they're pretty much even. We could get a brand-new Dart for about the price of this Durango (which has 40,000 miles on it already - although Dad knows the previous owners and they do maintain their vehicles well). We haven't priced out insurance yet. New (aka with warranty) vs. used is a consideration.

The Dart would get far better gas mileage. The Durango would have far better hauling capacity. But it's not quite that simple. We've seen the Dart in person, and it is no slouch in the trunk department, or legroom for that matter.

Here's what we're asking ourselves:

• Do we need the extended cargo room of the Durango? BabyD is our first child, and while we hope to have more, two-kid space is not a pressing need. We have a mental wish list of things we want to do to the house, but so far Petey has sufficed for hauling supplies (sometimes much to my dismay). We go to Ocean City, Md., every summer (or hope to) but don't haul a ton of equipment. But on the flip side, anywhere we go now for more than a day trip will require all sorts of baby equipment. Petey can handle that, as can a Dart, for short-term trips, but maybe the Durango would be better for longer trips.
• What will be better in bad weather, or are they both sufficient? Joe said that none of his fellow workers who live up here drive SUVs - they all have sedans. The Dart is bigger and theoretically sturdier than his Sunfire. The Durango has 4WD and more tourque as opposed to the Dart, though it has front-wheel-drive which isn't horrible. I've not had problems with Petey in snow, so I imagine the Dart is also pretty good in it. But there's always that security of a larger, heftier, 4WD vehicle like the Durango.
• Which is more important - more space or better gas mileage? This is really the one we keep dancing around. We crunched some numbers and estimated that the Durango will cost about $800 more in gas per year (Side note: I did just read today that gas prices are expected to go down in 2013, with the average family saving about $200 for the year). Is it worth it to get a sturdier vehicle with more space? Or to turn it around, do the gas savings of the Dart make up for having less room?

If you're a parent, a NEPA resident, or a NEPA parent, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.  

Steamtown and skates

My husband had a "real weekend" this week (translation: The perils of life on the copy desk of a newspaper mean your days off are not automatically Saturday and Sunday. But this week, they were). We took advantage of it by having some NEPA adventures on Saturday.

Starting with Steamtown National Historic Site.

(view from the front of the building)

 



Joe and I have something of an interest in trains. We recently went to the  B&O museum in Baltimore, and we're hoping to go to Strasburg this summer when we go to the NCPC National Meet in Bird-in-Hand, Pa. We're also a fan of model train displays. For me, I think this comes from my Pap, who had an extensive model train collection. My dad also had one set up in our basement when I was little, which I loved.

Steamtown is at the former railyards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western RR. Railroads were an important part of the area's economy throughout the coal mining years, as it was the primary means of transportation for the coal.

I think what I enjoy most about trains and train museums is that it's such a step back in time. We're in such a hurry to get places nowadays that rail travel isn't a much-used option. I've taken train trips before, and I really enjoy watching the world go by (it's why I like car trips too).

We were joined by our friends, the Abdallas, NEPA natives now living in southcentral Pa. (well, Molly is technically a southern tier native, but that's just over the line into N.Y.). We all went on the "Life on a Caboose" tour, during which one of the park rangers took us through - you guessed it - a caboose and told us of the lives of the railmen who rode and worked in there.

Side note: Workin' on the railroad? Dangerous gig. You could get squished trying to do your job and link up cars! (and that's just one danger.)

Being that we'd kind of dawdled getting there (hey, it was Saturday... ), and Steamtown is in winter hours, we did not get to spend as much time there as we would have liked. Come spring, we're hoping to go on one of the excursions - and take BabyD with us! :-)

Later that evening, we headed to Wilkes-Barre for the WBS Penguins Pink in the Rink game with my Zeta Tau Alpha alumnae chapter. Breast cancer awareness and education is ZTA's national philanthropy, so this was a great opportunity for fun with sisters and to help the fight!

(Tux, the Penguins mascot, rocks the pink!)

 

Before the game, we ZTAs scattered throughout the lobby and handed out pink ribbons and self-exam reminder stickers. I enjoy getting the opportunity to do this, and I've always envied the sisters who get to do this at NFL games!

 

The game itself was a lot of fun as well. For $23, we got great seats (three rows from the ice!), a Penguins ballcap, soda, chips and a hot dog. Minor league sports are pretty awesome - much more affordable than major league sports, for sure, and far more fan-friendly, with lots of promotions and giveaways. I'm hoping we can catch a RailRiders baseball game this summer.

 

And the Penguins got a 3-0 win over the Worchester Sharks!

 

(I couldn't resist a crown pic.)

 

So that's our very NEPA-flavored day. All-in-all, a lot of fun, and we've just begun to scratch the surface of the adventures this area has to offer!



The things you find...

I confess: I am not the world's most organized person. We've been in our house five months and there are still plenty of boxes to unpack and things unorganized. (Side note: This is where I envy my sister's Virgo-perfectionism organizational skills. I swear she can just look at something and know where everything should go.)

Yesterday, my husband and I took yet another crack at the boxes in our basement. This provided a treasure trove of weird memorabilia, and some with a decidedly... psychic flavor.

• The Hairspray Playbill from when I last saw the show in December 2008, before I met Joe... autographed by a high school classmate of his who was in the show!
• On that theme, a copy of the Hanover Evening Sun  - Joe's old newspaper - with a review of Susquehanna University, my alma mater. There were a few other ES items I found, all from before Joe worked there, because my grandparents lived in Littlestown and I used to read it when we went to visit them.
• A sports column I wrote in college - in 1997 - about egotistical owners ruining sports. Inspired by Peter Angelos' firing of Davey Johnson - er, excuse me, Johnson's resignation - a day before he won AL Manager of the Year. It also mentions Jerry Jones' ego doing damage to the Cowboys. Joe, upon reading: "How sentient!" My reaction: "I've been bitching about the same thing for 15 years?! *sigh*"
• There were piles of old cards I'd received while in college. I pulled out one and saw it was from my great aunt and uncle. Was about to throw it away when I thought, "hey, I should open it. Maybe I missed some money." Sure enough, there was a $5 sitting in it! Although I like to think of that as sort of a belated Christmas gift from the great beyond. :-)

I didn't even get the thing done last night. I kept sorting through it today, only to discover the bottom half of it is full of stuff that isn't even mine!!! Mom, Dad, Andrea... I've got a box for you...

(And in yet another odd find, there were two 1997 TV Guides with Ravens on the cover. Did I mention we're Cowboys fans? Why did Mom - the most likely culprit - save them?! Vinny Testeverde's on the cover of one, for crying out loud! There's no value in that! Joe's reaction: "Gag." And he's a Ravens fan.)

I'd better make sure this stuff gets sorted in my lifetime, or my child(ren) will be really mystified by me when I die and they have to go through it!