A local cheerleading squad placed second last weekend at the World Championships in Virginia Beach, Va.

Competing against teams from as far away as England and Japan, the Precision All-Star Starlets thrived in their first-ever international competition. The team, comprised of 22 girls between the ages of 8 and 14, qualified for the competition after placing first at the National Championships in Ocean City, Md. on April 6. A team from Texas won the competition.

The Starlets, who train twice a week at its Milltown studio, are coached by Kelly Grandell and Lauren Sadowski.

“This is the best this team has done, definitely,” Grandell said. “They did a lot of hard work and showed a lot of determination.”

Initially two smaller teams, the younger and older girls were grouped together this year to create a team large enough to compete in these types of competitions. Sadowski said most teams the Starlets competed against were made up strictly of older girls.

“The older girls helped out a lot with the younger girls, and the younger girls picked things up quicker than we thought,” she said.

Co-captain Jessica Johnson, 14, said she tried to set a good example for the other girls.

“I just tried to show good leadership and set a good example by being a good cheerleader, having good attendance at practice and being prepared,” she said.

Co-captain Madeline Buiano said the trip to worlds was a success, but fun at the same time.

“We performed well because we were relaxed and were having fun,” she said. “It was just a lot of fun being at the beach with all of my friends. It was probably the biggest trip we’ve gone on for cheerleading.”

Competitive cheerleading combines dancing, cheering and gymnastics. Grandell said some girls have specialties, but that each girl has to be competent in each area.

“There’s dancing, tumbling, jumps,” she said. “The girls had to work their butts off to get everything down.”

Buiano, 14, said her favorite part of the routine was the dancing.

“I was always more of a dancer,” she said. “I’ve danced longer than I’ve done cheerleading but once I started cheerleading I started to really like it.”

Both Buiano and Johnson said they hope to be cheerleaders in high school next year.

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The Precision All-Stars Cheer and Tumble teams will be holding open tryouts on Saturday May 17 at the Delaware Swim and Fitness Center in Pike Creek from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (302) 697-6717.