Local Pinelands grad a finalist for Philadelphia Eagles cheer team

Paula Scully
Asbury Park Post
4/18/2011

LITTLE EGG HARBOR — Ashley Chapman, 21, of Little Egg Harbor, a 2008 graduate of Pinelands Regional High School, will be one of 60 finalists Wednesday in the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleading auditions.

The process started March 26 with more than 400 women.

“If they hire me, I will be an NFL cheerleader,” said Chapman, daughter of Jennifer Chapman and Jerry Chapman, both of Little Egg Harbor.

Chapman, now a junior at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, started dancing when she was 4. She took dance classes at Spotlight Academy in Little Egg Harbor and later at Ovations in Waretown.

She was on a dance team for the National League Lacrosse Philadelphia Wings for three years while attending college.

Then she saw the advertisement for Eagles cheerleading auditions online. She made two cuts and became one of 80 women who advanced to the semifinal round on March 30. At that time the current Eagles cheerleaders were added to the mix because they re-audition, bringing the total to roughly 110 women in the semifinals.

Chapman made the next cut and is one of 60 finalists in the final round Wednesday at the Suzanne Roberts Theater in Philadelphia. Her younger sister Alyssa, 16, a sophomore at Pinelands Regional, also is a cheerleader.