University of Alabama cheerleader and West Lauderdale alumna Millery Null is pictured cheering during an Alabama football game this past season. Null recently won first place in the NCA partner stunts championship at Daytona Beach, Florida.

West Lauderdale alumna Millery Null isn’t one to shy away from competition.

Last year, the current University of Alabama cheerleader was part of a 13-person Team USA cheerleading squad that won the gold at the International Cheer Union championships in Orlando, Florida. She will return to that same competition this year as part of Team USA later this month, but before doing that, Null decided to try her hand at an individual competition.

Null and her partner, Ryan Claunch, recently competed in the National Cheerleaders Association’s partner stunts championship in Daytona, Florida, with the two of them winning first place. While Null has long gotten used to cheerleading competitions ever since she started doing it at West Lauderdale in seventh grade, she said this one had a bit of a different feel.

“This competition was slightly different only because I wasn’t competing with the team,” Null said. “I had a few more nerves than I usually do. I’ve had experience doing it with Team USA and ’Bama, but it’s never just been myself and my partner, but I went at it like I do any other competition, and it went great.”

Null said the motivation was more difficult to work up during practice sessions, as she didn’t have an entire cheerleading squad pumping her up. There was also a slight adjustment to having to practice outside — the competition took place on at the Daytona Beach Bandshell amphitheater, whereas her other cheerleading competitions have taken place indoors.

“A lot of hours go into it, but (me and Claunch) work really well together, so it wasn’t too bad,” Null said.

The routine included several stunts and ended with Claunch flipping Null into the air and propping her up with just his right hand. Immediately, the two embraced each other and side spot/hype man Jaylan Davis following the routine, knowing they had just nailed it.

“After Ryan and I hit our last stunt routine on the Bandshell, it was the most incredible feeling knowing we had accomplished exactly what we wanted to, and that we hit it,” Null said. “Of course, we wanted to win, but more than anything we just wanted to hit our routine. So after we did that, Ryan instantly picked me up and spun me around, because we knew then that all of our hard work had paid off.”

With her graduating from Alabama next month, Null said she wanted another challenge to help cap off her cheerleading career. Setting goals is something that’s always kept her motivated, and cheerleading is a good outlet to feed her competitive nature, which is why she put in the extra work to do one more competition.

“It’s always been something I’ve enjoyed,” Null said. “I only have a couple of more months to be able to do it, and whenever you have a goal in mind, if you want to succeed at it, especially with goals this big, you won’t stop until you do. The feeling of winning never gets old; it’s why I come back year after year.”

That hunger began when she cheered for West Lauderdale, and Null said working under then-head coach Charlotte Chaney and East Mississippi Cheer coach Laura Posey helped instill the right work ethic that prepared her for cheering at Alabama.

“Thy pushed our team a lot,” Null recalled. “Whenever I got to college, I was used to being pushed. They were great coaches, not only in cheer but in life. When I did go to college, I came from a great, strong background of having those two. They definitely prepared me.”

Null will train for the International Cheer Union’s championship Saturday-April 23, then she will depart for Orlando, Florida, April 24 to take part in the competition with Team USA. Her competition there will take place April 26 and 27. After that, Null said she expects the reality of her college career coming to a close will finally hit her.

“That’ll be a big, emotional day, but I can be nothing but happy and thankful to have had the opportunities that I did,” Null said. “I’m nothing but grateful.”

While her college cheerleading career may be ending, Null said she would still like to be involved with the sport in some capacity. She’s a sports broadcasting major at Alabama and has interned with FloSports, a sports broadcasting company, which has a subsidiary called Varsity TV that focuses on cheerleading. Null has written articles for them and has also helped create other online content with her photography, videography and editing skills. Once she graduates, Null said she hopes to get a job with Varsity TV full-time.

“I”m open to other options, but that’s my ultimate goal, to work with them,” Null said.