JFKMHS Cheer Team Wins States 4 Times in a Row

Manan Machhi, Jenna Berard, Yana Patel, and Lucas Monteiro • March 13, 2025

JFKMHS Cheer Team after winning NJCDCA State Cheer Leading Championship with a score of 74.1 on February 23.

The JFK cheer team won the state championship at Brookdale Community College on Feb. 23.

The Mustangs’ clinched the win in the Non-Tumble Cheer and Dance Varsity Division with a score of 74.1. Marlboro came in second with a score of 73.8 and Watchung Hills Regional took third with 68.6.

The team won states the past three years, making this victory their fourth in a row. The Mustangs’ also won a sportsmanship award and Mrs. Szoke won the Coaches Recognition Award.

There was a total of eight teams competing in the division. The varsity team consisted of 14 girls. Four girls will be leaving the Mustangs’ at the end of the 2025 season.

About the Contributors

Manan Machhi

Manan Machhi is a senior at JFKMHS. This is his first year taking journalism where he is a contributor to The Torch. He took this class to be able to voice his opinion about topics that he enjoys. Manan likes many types of entertainment, movies, video games, cartoons, music and tv shows. He also enjoys building things like model kits and Legos. He loves trying out new things and journalism fits the category of an interesting new thing to try out. His main interest is video games. Some of the games he plays include “Halo”, “Devil May Cry”, “Minecraft”, “Marvel Rivals”, “Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon”and “Transformers Devastation.” The music he enjoys can be anything from rock to metal and his favorite band is “Good Kid.” He wants to be a voice actor in the future like Roger Criag Smith and Peter Cullen, which are his favorites.

Jenna Berard

Jenna Berard is a freshman of the class of 2028, at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School. This is her first year in journalism and she looks forward to writing about school news and new shows and movies. Jenna is a part of the JV spirit cheerleading team. Her hobbies include dancing, baking and spending time with her friends and family. Outside of school, Jenna dances at Verne Fowler School of Dance. Jenna has a love for going to the beach and traveling. She hopes she can travel the world and explore more countries when she gets older.

Yana Patel

Yana Patel is a sophomore at JFKMHS. At present she is a contributor. It’s her inaugural year studying journalism. She found out about journalism from a friend, and since she was curious about it, she decided to give it a shot to learn more about journalism. Her pursuit of a career in journalism stems from her passion for reading and writing, as well as her desire to learn more about it. She is also a member of Indic Alliance, WEvolve, track and dance exchange. She is a dancer and aspires to become a choreographer in future. Her interests include art, reading, specifically romcoms and fiction, listening to music 24/7 and poetry.

Lucas Monteiro

Lucas Monteiro is a 16-year-old contributor that goes to John F Kennedy Memorial High School and is in his first year of journalism. Lucas is a junior looking forward to being a sports announcer. He is in journalism because he wants to be an announcer for sports games that he is interested in. Lucas loves to wrestle and play soccer for the school’s team. He likes to go out with his friends on weekends and to have fun. He reads books, listens to all different music genres, and he loves to be nice to everyone. Ever since he was a kid, he loved WWE.