BOSTON - The Southbridge Middle/High School cheer team was at the State House Monday being honored for their championship season. The team won a national championship earlier this spring. 

Southbridge was the first-place winner in their co-ed division achieving a perfect routine. They won the regional championship before heading to states where they came in third, but it qualified them for a spot at nationals where they took home the title. 

Monday, they received recognition in both the House and the Senate from Rep. John Marsi and Sen. Ryan Fattman. 

They were able to go onto the house floor and sit in the representatives’ seats and even went out on the Senate balcony. 

The team is still in disbelief about how their season ended and they’re not taking anything for granted. 

“We are mostly treated like underdogs. Not many people know who we are. I’ve been cheering with Southbridge since middle school,” said senior captain Kerian Ortiz. “To see the improvement from then to now is crazy. It’s just surreal and crazy to think we’ve made it as far as we did because it was so unexpected, and we worked so hard for it."

The Southbridge team is made up of 12 student-athletes, many of which had never cheered before deciding to join the team.