zBROOKLYN, N.Y. – LIU Athletic Director Dr. William Martinov announced Tuesday the addition of two new staff members: Justin Wentzel, who will serve as the head cheerleading coach, and Kayla Scordo, who will be the associate head cheerleading coach. The duo will oversee LIU's game day and competitive cheerleading program on both campuses, while also working in the LIU Promise offices.
  Wentzel comes to LIU with vast experience in collegiate cheerleading, including leading two programs to national championship titles at the National Cheerleaders Association held in Daytona Beach, Fla. After a 20-year absence from the competition floor, he led the California University of Pennsylvania cheerleading squad to a 2015 NCA Division II title. Then in 2019, as a member of the coaching staff at Saint Joseph's University, he helped the Hawks capture their first NCA Division I National Championship.
 
Wentzel has more than 15 years of experience as a cheerleading coach and cheerleader, including ten years as Head Instructor for the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) from 2009-2019. In addition to being the Head Cheerleading Coach and Spirit Coordinator at Cal U of PA for three years, he served as the head coach of the cheerleading team at Drexel University, and as a contracted consultant/coach at Saint Joseph's University. He has been awarded numerous achievements by the NCA, including Top Rookie Instructor, Top Veteran Instructor, and Top Head Instructor throughout his years of traveling and teaching camps throughout the nation. He has also been a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association District and State Championship judge since 2013.
 
Scordo comes to LIU as a two-time national championship-winning cheerleading with over 11 years of competitive experience in both cheerleading and gymnastics. She spent four seasons competing for Hofstra, during which time, the Pride won Universal Cheerleaders Association College National titles in Small Coed DI and Open All-Girl Game Day titles. She was a two-time best All-Around and earned team MVP honors once.
 
In 2017, Scordo was invited to represent The United States at the Pan American Cup in Cali, Colombia, where she was a part of a squad that won the Hofstra's second international title. A Syosset native, she has coached five teams at the All-Star gym in Plainview, N.Y., including coaching her Youth Level 2 team to The Summit, a prestigious national competition held by Varsity.