ORLANDO, Fla.- Under the leadership of a former Sparkman High cheerleader, the University of Alabama cheerleading won its second Div. 1 all-girl national championship at the 2020 UCA & UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships. The Crimson Tide finished runner-up in the co-ed division.

“These girls worked hard and it’s great to see their work paid off as they received an incredible amount of support from the school administration, friends and families,” said Jennifer Thrasher, director of spirit programs/head cheerleading coordinator at Alabama. “Both of our squads were determined and self-motivated and going into the competition we knew if we could execute the routines they could win. The all-girl squad performed a close to perfect routine. The best I’ve seen them perform.”

The Crimson Tide won the all-girl competition over Oklahoma who was second and third place San Diego State. In Co-ed, the Tide finished just behind the University of Central Florida while Kentucky finished third.

Thrasher, who was Jennifer Vaughn at Sparkman, won her national title as a member of the Sparkman squad in her senior year of 1993. She received a partial scholarship to Alabama where he earned a master’s degree in special education. While cheering for the Crimson Tide her squad finished third.

She was named head coach in 2011 by the late Mal Moore who was the Athletic Director at the time. She is married and she and her husband have three children, ages 18, 17 and 12.

Thrasher gives a lot of credit for her squad’s success to assistant coach Brandon Prince. “He set the routines and worked close with our squads,” said Thrasher. “We have the best coaching staff that includes Christa Sanford.”

The recent national title was the fifth in the history of the program as the Tide won national championships in 1984 and 2011 in Co-ed while winning both Co-ed and all-girl in 2015.

The three-day national competition took place at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla.

As for Thrasher, winning national championships both as a participant and as a coach are similar in gratification, but she said when in high school she didn’t realize how big cheerleading was. Today, to see the student-athletes accomplish their goal is rewarding in a different way. She added, “I feel like I’m developing young people for the future. While they are doing their routines you feel helpless, but know they are products of hard work.”