Just a few months after its softball team reached the Little League World Series, Cranston’s League for Cranston’s Future saw another one of its clubs make national headlines as the 14-U cheerleaders took home a second-place finish at the American Youth Cheerleading National Championship last week in Kissimmee, Florida.

CLCF put on a show on Thursday and Friday to qualify for the final round on Saturday, which included just five teams. In the end, CLCF was the runner up, cementing its place as one of the country’s top youth cheer teams.

“We’re incredibly proud of them. They are tickled pink, they are so happy that they had this experience,” said CLCF President of Football & Cheer Christine Field.

This tournament was held simultaneously with the AYF championships, and Field is thrilled that the cheerleaders received the same opportunities as the football players.

“They get so many of the same experiences that the boys do with football which is important. They get to go to Florida and it opens their eyes that this level of competition exists outside of their home state. It allows them to grow as players,” said Field. “This matured them. They represented our city and our league. For them to come in second in the nation, I don’t think they were ready for that, but they handled it with so much class and grace.”

Field is proud of CLCF’s recent national emergence and credits the entire community for providing the kids top-notch services through the league as it strives to prepare all of its athletes for not only the present, but the future as well.

“It says that we run quality programs, that’s evident, but this also says that our girls are going out and doing great things. Our community support is great and our girls are being supported the way the boys are, and it should be that way,” Field said. “We have the same number of coaches, practices. CLCF is amazing for all of our kids and helps bring them up and prepare them for high school.”

Next up for the squad will be Youth Cheer and Dance Alliance Globals, which will be held at Tropicana Resort Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Fortunately for the team, nearly the entire roster is slated to return next fall as only two athletes will be graduating to the high school level. Globals will be held on Feb. 6-9.

Members of the CLCF 14-U cheerleading team included: Isabella Aceto, Madelyn Aguiar, Isabella Avila, Olivia Baccari, Elliana Campbell, Ava Curran-McCarthy, Alexia Flores, Bianca Izzi, Aria Koenig, Ava Nolan, Bryanna Padilla, Allison Paquette, Marchella Pescatore, Annabella Turk and Ava Voccio. Coaches are Vallarie Nolan, Hanna Nolan, Marcy Wilson, Patricia Mendoza, Skyla Marchand and Fatima Carvalho.

The state champion CLCF 13-U boys football team saw its fall come to a close when it fell to Springfield, Mass. in the second round of regionals.

Springfield is a perennial power in New England and was considered to be the favorite heading into the matchup. Although Springfield edged CLCF in the 6-0 win, Field and company were ecstatic with the Chieftains’ performance both on and off the field.

“They played an amazing game. Springfield is renowned so to hold them to 6 points was great. At the end, they were wonderful and showed great sportsmanship. The boys showed that camaraderie,” said Field.

Members of the CLCF 13-U football team include: Noel Melendez, Max Biosse, Myles Corio, Cameron Bloodworth, Isiah Nyahkoon, Kaiden St. Culus, Aiden Saltzman, Shamus McConnell, Nicholas Mancini, Jinu Kim, Allen Correia, Michael DeAngelis, Justin Keang, Christian Cirelli, Logan Swanlund, Dayvion Gervais, Wilfredo Diaz, Robert Rosa, Vincent Cirelli, Noah Reyes, Jaxson Hennemann, Ashton Phoenix Moss, Jackson Jaquez, Joseph Salimeno, Tyler Pouler, Ryan Hogan and Andre Cemin. Coaches are Jeff Hamilton, Nicholas Mancini, John Rocchio, Joe Salimeno and Evan Saltzman.