The Apex Cougars finished with a top-five performance at the Pop Warner National Cheer & Dance Championships held Dec. 6-11 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Only the top five in each category are scored. The Cougars were awarded 52.60 points, finishing behind the champion Amity (Conn.) Spartans' 59.88 in the Novice Division Junior Midget Small category.
Three North Carolina teams, including two from the Triangle, reached the Pop Warner football national semifinals, but none came home with a national championship this year.
The Division II Junior Midget Silver North Raleigh Bulldogs, the Division II Junior Peewee Durham Screamin' Eagles and the Division I Union Road Jaguars of Gastonia were the top finishers among the eight teams in the Mid-South Region at the 54th annual Pop Warner Super Bowl last week.
The Durham Screamin' Eagles and the North Raleigh Bulldogs knocked two California teams from title contention Saturday at the Pop Warner Super Bowl and National Cheer & Dance Championships at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
The Screamin' Eagles Division II Junior Pee Wee team defeated East Bay Wranglers of Oakland, Calif., 14-0. Durham will play Yorba Linda (Calif.) Bulldogs on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs Division Division II Junior Midget team defeated Lee's Summit (Mo.) Titans 16-13. On Tuesday, North Raleigh will play the Far West Jets from Phoenix, Ariz.
The North Raleigh Bulldogs Silver and the Durham Screaming Eagles football teams, along with five cheerleading teams and one dance team, will continue their quests for national championships after winning regional titles on Saturday in Gastonia.
Each football team won its Pop Warner Mid-South Region championship, and the cheer and dance teams finished either first or second, to advance to the Dec. 4-11 Pop Warner Football Championships and National Cheer and Dance Championships at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Six other football teams, like the Bulldogs and Eagles part of the Triangle's Consolidated Football Federation, saw their seasons end in Saturday's regional finals.
