The hard work of Hayden's Spotlight Studios North Star senior coed 3 all-star cheer team has been recognized on a global scale.

The team placed third in the international division of the Varsity All Star Summit competition, which was held May 3-4 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

It was an incredible feat for the team, which has advanced to the competition five previous times, never before getting past fifth place.

"Even though it's not first place, you still made podium," team captain Hailee Duvall, 16, of Coeur d'Alene, said Friday. "It's insane, the feeling; everyone feels their hard work paid off. The tears, the blood, the crying, it doesn’t matter. All the hours we put in at the gym, all the training, it's all worth it."

These youths definitely racked up hours in the studio preparing for the championship. Spotlight athletes generally practice three or four days a week and about two hours each session. But the month leading up to Summit, they practiced for about three hours every day.

"It was astonishing knowing everything we had done finally got recognized," Hailee said. "It's one of the best feelings."

The Spotlight athletes also put in a lot of time and energy on the mats, winning paid bids at competitions and earning their way to Summit.

"There are gym systems from all other countries and they have to go through a bid process," said Coach Stacey Steinwandel. "You’re basically finding the strongest competitors from your whole nation."

Steinwandel explained that this level of competitive cheer is a combination of elite tumbling, stunting and dance akin to the training of Olympic gymnasts. She said competitive cheer has been recognized as a standalone sport and "it's going to be an Olympic sport."

"These kids are training like little Olympians," she said. "We're not on the side of someone else's success. We're creating our own."

Nearly 70 area youth athletes ages 7-19 on a few different Spotlight teams competed at Summit. The coed 4 team placed seventh.

"To us it's a great community pride... We have athletes that are driving from as far as Pullman, Cheney and Sandpoint because of the quality of what we’re able to produce in our skills and routine," Steinwandel said. "We want to make sure the kids get noticed."

Spotlight mom Melissa Cheney said her 13-year-old daughter, Bella Skinner, is in her fourth year with Spotlight and has excelled every year.

"I think it’s an amazing sport that’s team oriented," Cheney said. "It's a crazy world, but it's a fun, exciting ride. It's great to be able to watch our kids succeed, work together and build confidence and strength and skills."

Info: www.spotlightstudios.net