THE Seri Emas International School’s cheerleading team the Zelts might have only been around for a year, but they’ve already done their school proud.

The Zelts finished as runners-up in the Cheer 2013 Co-Ed division behind the mighty Mickeymitez from SMK Damansara Jaya – an impressive feat for a team making their Cheer debut.

Zelts captain Chelsia Ng, 16, said: “When they announced that Vibrant (from SMK Puteri Titiwangsa) were the second runners-up, our hearts just dropped because we thought that was the best we could hope for. We never thought we could actually finish second!”

But thanks to their hard work and dedication over the past year, they did.

The team only came about after the school hired cheerleading coaches from Cheer Aspirations for their regular physical education classes.

After a few of the girls expressed an interest in picking up cheerleading, the coaches suggested they form a proper team to compete at Cheer.

“They are a very talented bunch of kids, and we spent one year just to train their basics. They caught up quickly when we introduced stunts for them,” said Priscilla Wong, the Zelts’ co-coach.

Lee Sher Zanne, 16, the Zelts’ co-captain, said they considered registering for Cheer last year.

“In the end, we decided to spend more time training and preparing for this year instead,” said Lee.

The team took it upon themselves to make sure their Cheer 2013 campaign was a success. They choreographed their routine and designed their costumes themselves, with some help from their coach.

Unfortunately, Lee said she’s not sure if the Zelts will be able to return for Cheer 2014.

“Most of us are seniors, and all four guys in the team will be leaving school. But we do have a junior team that didn’t compete this year. Hopefully they will be ready for Cheer 2014,” said Lee.