LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Macey Buzanoski has come close to winning national and international cheerleading championships before.

The 2009 Butler graduate was a freshman on the Golden Tornado competitive cheering squad that placed second at UCA Nationals.

She also was a member of the FCA Gems All-Star Cheerleading teams that placed fourth and fifth in 500-team world competitions.

This year, Buzanoski hit the jackpot.

A freshman cheerleader at the University of Louisville, Buzanoski was part of three national champion and one world championship team this spring.

"I was the only freshman this year to win both worlds and the NCAA championship," Buzanoski said. "I'm pretty proud of that."

Louisville's coed competitive cheering team won the NCAA Collegiate National Championships at Daytona Beach, Fla., in the first week of April. The Cardinals' female team won the 2010 Cheerleading Worlds in Orlando, Fla., during the third week of April.

Buzanoski also was part of the Louisville team that won the collegiate division of CheerSport Nationals in Atlanta.

She also competes for the GymTyme all-star team in Louisville, which won a national title.

"The Louisville coaches run the GymTyme program as well, so I do both," Buzanoski said. "It's been a hectic schedule, but I know the workouts have been good for me.

"I've grown so much in my abilities over the past year."

When Buzanoski first arrived at Louisville last summer — she missed her prom to try out for the team last spring — she wasn't sure where or how she would fit in.

"I wasn't good enough to be a flyer and I wasn't strong enough to base many of the girls who were there," she said. "They kept trying me at different things and my skills became flexible."

Louisville coach James Speed said about 200 girls try out for Louisville's cheerleading program each April. The program keeps 80 as it puts together three cheerleading teams.

Louisville has won the nationals seven times in the past eight years, including the last three years in a row.

Of the 100 cheerleaders on the roster, only 20 are selected to compete at nationals.

"And maybe 25 percent of those chosen are freshmen," Speed said. "We don't use a lot of them. Macey was chosen because of her skills, her ability to perform and her work ethic and desire to get better.

"Our program draws the best kids from all over the country. They know about the history here, the background, the tradition. ... Most of these cheerleaders have wanted to come to Louisville for years and have spent that time preparing.

"The competition for every spot on our team is fierce," Speed added.

Buzanoski knew she wanted to attend Louisville since eighth grade.

She plans to major in sports administration with a minor in communications.

Buzanoski practices four days a week with the Louisville cheerleading team from 8:30 p.m. until midnight or 1 a.m. at times. The other three days, she practices with GymTyme for two hours a night.

Besides competitions and practices, Louisville cheerleaders perform at Cardinals sporting events.

"We're always involved in something," Speed said. "Our cheerleaders are expected to maintain high academics, give back to the community and represent the university.

"In many ways, they're the face of the university, so our standards have to be high."