Sheffield stunt cheerleading squad – The Sabrecats – have taken a top-five spot in a national event, just a year after suffering a disappointing result at the same competition.

The event, which took place at the English Institute of Sport, ended with the Gold squad coming 4th, and the Silver and Black squads earning 2nd place trophies respectively.

Hollie Wilson, 20, who coaches the Silver squad, said: “I’m just so proud of them.

“They went out there and gave it their everything; it was amazing.”

This success meant even more to the University of Sheffield cheerleading club, after all its teams finished last in their divisions the previous year.

The teams made huge improvements to their scores from the previous competition in Manchester in February.

Molly Moreland, 20, one of the members of the Black squad, said: “I hit a personal zero and I think we smashed it.”

These results made this competition their most successful in more than two years.

Stunt cheerleading is one of the fastest growing sports in the country, and this is reflected in the increasing standard of the performances by UK university teams.

The Sheffield Sabrecats teams all train twice weekly, practising their complex, high-risk routines involving stunts, tumbles, jumps and dance.

Despite only a few deductions across the entire club, they are already motivated to correct these minor issues in time for nationals in two weeks.

Another Black squad team member, Liv Armstrong, 20, said: “We were quite upset that the routine didn’t go as we’d hoped, but we’re going to be working really hard over the next couple of weeks to make sure it’s perfect next time.”