The Whitman-Hanson cheerleading team will start the new year going up against the best competition the country has to offer. The Panthers head to Dallas, Texas on Friday for the two-day National competition after wrapping up another state and Patriot League championship fall season last year.

This will be the first time a Whitman-Hanson team will compete at the Dallas Nationals. The Panthers won a different national competition in Florida two years ago, but head coach Kailyn Getchell said the competition in Texas will be even tougher.

“This competition is probably the most difficult in the whole country,” Getchell said. “We’ve never been before, so that’s difficult because we don’t know what to expect. But watching videos from last year’s teams, I think they have a great shot at winning and doing really well.”

The upperclassmen on the team who were on the National championship team in 2009 said they know taking home first will be more difficult this time around, but are anxious to prove Whitman-Hanson belongs among the country’s elite.

“This is the biggest [high school] competition in the world,” senior Brianna Christie said. “So we’re really excited.”

The Panthers had to cut down the time of their routine by 20 seconds to meet the regulations for the tournament. While the routine is a little different, Getchell still expects the Panthers to perform well.

“They’re good enough and they’re talented enough,” she said. “They’ve been working really hard.”

Senior Brooke Atrz said the team shares Getchell’s optimism.

“We’re definitely feeling confident,” Artz said. “We’ve been having really good practices, and everything has been turning out the way we want it to.”

The Panthers will compete Saturday and Sunday before returning home from Nationals on Monday.