5 head to Capital One Bowl

Four Kekaha cheerleaders just came back from the Sun Bowl in San Diego. One from Hanapepe recently returned from the Pop Warner National Cheerleading competition in Orlando, Fla. Now, these five girls must prepare to head to the Mainland again to perform in the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1 in Orlando, Fla.

Aleina Emayo, Jessica Langaman, Brianna Rasquer-Yorkman and Jackie Taylor of the Kekaha Chargers Midget squad and Nanea Wilson of the Hanapepe Colts have been selected to perform in the Capital One Bowl’s halftime show that will be broadcast on ABC.

The girls were selected from a Jamz Cheer Camp in the summer and were named as outstanding performers. The girls, who range from 12 to 15 years old, were sent DVDs of the routine to be performed and they must learn it on their own time before joining the rest of the country’s cheerleaders for a few practices the day before the game.

“I think they’re going to try and get together in the back of my yard,” said Sherry Amayo, the mother of Aleina Emayo.

The four Kekaha cheerleaders are also preparing for a competition in Las Vegas. Amayo, Langaman, Rasquer-Yorkman and Taylor will try to fit in practice in between their other ones.

“I’m very nervous (for them),” Sherry Amayo said. “Just to see these girls who I know so well, for them to be performing in this big stadium, to see them perform, it brings tears to my eyes.”

Wilson is also nervous about the performance.

“There’s going to be a lot of people in the stands,” she said. “I was really excited. It’s like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not everyone gets to go.”

Their trip includes excursions to Universal Orlando theme parks and Walt Disney World.

The Capital One Bowl pits Michigan (8-4) and Florida (9-3) in a bowl game that is scheduled to be broadcast at 8 a.m. HST on Jan. 1 on ABC.