North Raleigh cheerleaders and dancers made a strong showing Dec. 3 through 9 in the Pop Warner National Championships at Walt Disney's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The Wilders Grove Wolfpack placed in the top five in three cheerleading and dance divisions. The Wolfpack dance team finished fourth in the nation in the Junior Midget dance competition.

"The team worked extra hard this year," head coach Rhonda Keith said. "The Junior Midgets did not have a cheerleading squad, so our dancers learned some cheers and kept the team and crowd going during the games in addition to dancing."

The team's Pee Wee cheer squad also finished fourth in the Novice Small Team event, and the Wolfpack Midget cheerleaders finished fifth in the Novice Small event.

The Wake Forest Titans placed fifth in the Junior Midget Division Intermediate Large team level.

Cheerleaders were placed in "small" and "large" competitions based on the number of team members. Small squads consist of fewer than 19 members, while large teams can have up to 35 teammates.

The North Raleigh teams competed against more than 300 cheer and dance squads in four age classifications from all over the United States, according to the Pop Warner Web site.